Chapter 565: No You Didn't

Normally, arriving in a System Event felt like stepping out of a teleportation portal. The third System Event was quite a different experience.

Thalion woke up on a soft bed to the sound of classic music. It took him a moment to remember where he was. Then he shot upright and looked around.

"What the fuck have you done?" Thalion thought as his gaze wandered through the vast chamber. It was filled with beds stacked atop other beds. On every bed, another trial taker had also just woken up. There was one gate on the far side of the room, where five copies of R-87 stood. Instead of the elemental's usual face, however, they wore masks with nothing but a single circle in the middle.

Something slowly dawned on Thalion with growing horror. If what he suspected was true, this would be by far the most dangerous System Event of them all and the System notification did nothing to ease his mind either.

Wakey, wakey, dear trial takers

In this System Event, we're all going to have a lot of fun playing a few games together

Please stand up and gather before the gate so I can introduce you to the rules

Thalion had seen a very similar room in a TV show before, and the masks R-87 had transformed his face into...

"I can't believe that fucker made some sort of Squid Game," Thalion cursed inwardly.

The first trial takers were already jumping off their beds and lining up before the five avatars of R-87.

Meanwhile, Thalion was still struggling to comprehend what he had just entered.

"He even has the stupid golden piggy bank on the ceiling," Thalion continued cursing. This was bad. This was very bad.

He got up slowly and joined the others. What had the games in Squid Game been again? It had been such a long time since he had watched the show. There was Red Light, Green Light, but he doubted many people would be eliminated in that game. In Squid Game, only desperate losers had participated, whereas everyone here belonged to the absolute elite. The nights might even become the most terrifying part of this System Event once everyone realized that killing each other was allowed.

Well... maybe he was just overreacting. Perhaps this was only a joke, and the gate would lead them to the real System Event.

All around him, he could sense the auras of D grades, and every single one of them was absurdly powerful. Thalion sincerely hoped that no large-scale fighting would break out. Any one of those D grades could kill him with a single successful attack.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Rock Games," the avatar standing in the middle announced loudly once everyone had gotten out of bed and lined up.

"In this System Event, I am going to be your host. We are all going to play a few games, and it is very important that you follow the rules. Otherwise, you will be disqualified. Every day, we will go through this gate and play a game. After each game, points will be awarded. No one is allowed to skip a game or leave this System Event until it has ended.

"With that, I wish you the best of luck in the very first game."

The avatar of R-87 stepped aside, and the gate slowly opened, revealing a portal more than fifty meters tall.

By now, loud murmurs filled the hall. Especially the green, five-meter-tall ogre standing beside Thalion didn't seem too keen on this System Event.

"Stupid games. I don't want to play games. I want to smash."

More and more complaints echoed through the chamber. No one seemed particularly interested in playing games after everything they had gone through to get here. Thalion, however, was one step ahead. If this was truly what he thought it was, then he would have no choice but to play.

A few participants now stopped in front of the avatars to ask questions, but R-87 merely waved them onward without giving any answers.

That was when Thalion noticed the large 500 floating above the portal. That was likely the total number of trial takers.

"What is the next game going to be, you stupid rock? I paid five hundred years to get here, and I didn't come to play games. I want to fight!" a woman with long black hair shouted at one of the avatars.

As she turned to walk through the portal with an annoyed huff, Thalion noticed that she had neither eyes nor a nose. Her face consisted of nothing but a mouth filled with sharp, needle-like teeth.

Thalion also stopped beside R-87 and whispered,

"You didn't."

The avatar responded with the slightest of nods.

It did absolutely nothing to ease Thalion's mind.

Since R-87 wasn't going to answer any questions, Thalion finally stepped through the portal himself, hoping the first game would be an easy one.

Appearing on the kitchen table of an unimaginably gigantic kitchen was not something he had expected.

Well... definitely not Red Light, Green Light, he thought with growing horror.

The kitchen table stood well over twenty meters high, and the fork lying beside Thalion was longer than he was tall. The tabletop itself was enormous, easily large enough for all five hundred trial takers to gather upon.

The ogre who had stood beside him earlier looked around skeptically.

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"Are we supposed to cook?"

Welcome to the first game I call Giant's Feast

As you have probably noticed, you are currently inside the home of giants

In exactly five minutes, the giants will return home very hungry

I was kind enough to inform them that there are many trial takers currently inside their house

Giants really don't appreciate that, and I may have promised them a reward for every slain trial taker

Furthermore, the giants are invulnerable to all of your attacks

The task is simple

Survive inside this house and garden for the next twenty-four hours

I wish you the best of luck

Time until the giants return: 4:59

The System notification hit like a nuclear bomb

Some trial takers were left speechless. Others began shouting, while many immediately sprang into action

Thalion's mind raced.

Where should I go inside the giants' house?

Staying here in the kitchen certainly couldn't be the right choice.

Hiding in a single spot probably wouldn't work either. The giants had to possess some way of finding intruders beyond mere sight, hearing, or smell. The notification had stated that the giants would return in five minutes, but it hadn't said whether they were already watching from outside the garden.

There was a kitchen window to Thalion's right. With one powerful leap and several uses of Telekinetic Dash, he landed on the windowsill.

What he saw did nothing to ease his mind.

The giants looked downright evil. They had dark gray skin and glowing red eyes. Some paced along the garden fence like tigers trapped in a cage, merely waiting for the moment they could pounce. Thalion couldn't stay here, and the garden wasn't an option either. Perhaps the house had a cellar, but if he were discovered down there, he would have no chance of escaping. Judging by how quickly the giants moved even while casually walking around the fence, outrunning them would be extremely difficult.

"Good. They are big," the ogre who had stood beside Thalion earlier said loudly. He had followed him onto the windowsill.

"Yep," Thalion answered while his mind continued racing.

Out in the open, only four giants revealed themselves, but three more were hiding farther back. They were concealed behind trees and foliage, yet with his blood vision, Thalion could clearly make them out.

"Best of luck. This will be difficult."

"Yeah. You too."

The ogre blurted it out loudly, and Thalion jumped into the air, activating Scarlet Maelstrom as he left the kitchen.

Before heading upstairs, he wanted to get a rough understanding of the house's layout.

From the inside, it resembled a rather ordinary family home. As he flew through it, that suspicion proved correct. There was a living room, a bathroom, the kitchen, and a small storage room. A staircase led both upward and downward. Every room had large windows overlooking the garden, which, as Thalion now realized, didn't just stretch out in front of the house but completely surrounded it.

As far as he could tell, the giants were still gathering outside the main entrance to the garden.

Only now did Thalion notice what was actually growing there. The last time, he had been too distracted by the giants. Multiple rows of what appeared to be flesh-eating plants lined the garden, each sporting enormous teeth. Thick vines slithered across the flowerbeds, looking as though they could lash out and cut apart anyone foolish enough to come too close.

Back inside, several trial takers were fighting over who got to hide behind the sofa cushions.

Thalion didn't give them particularly high odds of survival.

There were less than two minutes remaining.

He quickly shot up the stairs.

There was only one more floor. It contained five rooms: another bathroom, two children's bedrooms—one furnished with a bunk bed—a master bedroom, and what appeared to be a guest room with two large beds.

The situation upstairs was no different.

People were desperately trying to hide behind curtains, beneath pillows, or underneath the beds.

"Oi, do you have a plan?" the ogre from earlier called out.

He was now flying right beside Thalion on a pair of massive green feathered wings.

Thalion eyed the ogre suspiciously. He didn't trust him, but the ogre's title also didn't give him the impression that he had malicious intentions.

"More or less. I'm Thalion. Who are you?"

Thalion deactivated Mistform and used blood control to hover in midair. Since they were already beginning to form some sort of alliance, there was no harm in having a brief conversation.

At the moment, they were inside one of the children's bedrooms with the bunk bed. More than twenty other trial takers had gathered there as well, and five of them were currently trying to barricade the large door.

"Yeah, I know. I watched the broadcast. I'm Purpuff the Strong. You're probably the only one here who has won two System Events. Joining this one as an E grade is quite a bold move. So, what's your plan?" the ogre asked excitedly.

So that was where the familiarity came from. Thalion had completely forgotten that everyone had seen him during the last broadcast hosted by the Magnificent Pinkype.

"I don't think we can actually hide from the giants by simply crawling under a pillow and staying there for an entire day. If we want to survive this, we need to stay on the move and out of their sight. Come on, let's open the window," Thalion explained. In his mind, the window was their safest escape route.

"Good idea, but I don't trust the garden either. Did you see those plants?" Purpuff whispered as they both flew toward the window. "Dammit, we've got to hurry. There are only thirty seconds left. Hey, you four! Help us open the window. It's going to be our safest escape route."

Purpuff shouted at four humanoid alien-like creatures with yellow skin.

Their auras flared for a moment, but they quickly realized the ogre was right. Even a few more trial takers came over to help force the massive window open.

That was when Thalion noticed one of the giants walking around the house, carefully looking into the windows.

"Get down! Quickly!" he shouted while keeping his eyes fixed on the giant. His blood vision didn't work perfectly through the thick walls, but the wooden frame of the window offered little resistance.

"What are you talking about, human? It's only logical to open the window. Or don't you want an escape route?" one of the aliens snapped at Thalion.

"Yes, but they're watching. If we open it now, they might prepare for our escape route or decide to come up here first," Thalion hissed.

Purpuff had already ducked behind the windowsill, while the aliens continued standing upright, ignoring Thalion's warning.

The four aliens didn't care. Using a telekinetic skill, they forced the window open, and it swung outward with a loud screech.

"So, you don't want to hide at all. I'm stronger than those two hiding behind the bedpost. Together, we could definitely take that spot," Purpuff whispered after the four aliens had left.

"Nah. I'm going to hide behind the window frame the moment the giants enter the house," Thalion replied, watching the final seconds tick away.

"Smart. I like it..."

Purpuff's reply was interrupted by a deafening gong that made the entire house tremble.

The time is up. The giants may now enter the house

The giants aren't the only surprise

You may have noticed that the pressure has increased drastically, making running and flying much more difficult for all of you

The giants, of course, won't be affected

Time remaining: 23:59:59

Thalion immediately noticed the increased pressure, which pushed him firmly against the stone windowsill.

He could still move and fly, but just as the notification had warned, every movement now required far more resources, and his speed had been greatly reduced.

For Thalion, that was especially troublesome since his plan had been to jump out of the window. With the increased pressure, escaping that way would be far more difficult.

Furthermore... what if the giants already knew about the added pressure?

They might have positioned one of their own beneath every window, simply waiting to catch anyone foolish enough to jump.