Chapter 16: Main Event

System Alert: All attendees please locate to the green squares along the outer edges of the night market within five minutes. By then, if you're not inside one of the squares, you will be automatically kicked out of the event. 

 

As Ari stared at the words on the two-dimensional screen floating in front of him, he became slightly flustered. How could he not be? This was the moment he had been waiting for, and now it had finally arrived. He was one step closer to reaching his goal. 

 

He knew he would've been a sweating, shaking mess right about now if this were happening in reality. Even now, he felt a tinge of anxiety.

 

Ari couldn't help thinking about all the what-ifs. Like, what if the plan he came up with fails, or what if he couldn't win the pod? These questions swirled around his head, making him tense.  

 

However, he knew he couldn't fuck up this god-given gift. It was his chance to change all the terrible things that happened in his previous life, so he wouldn't miss it. 

 

As images of his mom and grandparents smiling happily flashed through his mind, determination surged through him. No matter what, he was going to win that pod.

 

"Ari, what are you just standing there for?" Ji-Hye asked, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the nearest green square she could find. "Let's go, before time runs out!"

 

Startled, Ari glanced around, only to notice that the stalls and decorations in the night market were slowly fading away. So instead of letting himself be dragged, he picked up his pace until he was instep with his cousin.

 

Looking around, he saw that most of the green squares were now red. From what he remembered when he watched the event on Vtube, that meant the square was full. Each square could only fit 200 people and, there were only ten of them. 

 

This meant that a lot of the attendees wouldn't be able to join in. Ari could only think that this was another scheme devised by event planners. First, lowering the chances of winning items from the stall games, and now this?

 

After shuddering at their gall, he noticed a green circle from the corner of his eye. "There's one Ji-Hye!" 

 

As she followed his gaze, she smiled before sprinting toward it with him behind her. Once they reached the green square, relief flooded through them. 

 

Ari knew that Ji-Hye wouldn't admit it, but he could tell that she was panicking there for a second. Even he could admit that he was relieved to be finally inside of one. 

 

Once they were safely inside of one of the yellow squares, Ji-Hye asked, " So what were you thinking so hard about before that almost made us not be able to find a circle?" 

 

"Nothing," he said quickly, averting his gaze from her. He could tell she wasn't convinced, so he changed the subject. "What do you think the main event will be?"

 

"Don't change the subject. I know that look," Ji-Hye started, giving him a once over. "You thought we might not be able to win the pods, didn't you?"

 

It shocked Ari how well Ji-Hye knew him. But he didn't want to talk about it now. He wanted to focus on the task at hand.

 

"I just don't want us to lose," Ari said, his voice soft.

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Ji-Hye nodded, understanding what he was feeling. They had talked about getting pods for such a long time. To lose when their dream was right in front of them would be devastating. 

 

"What did you say before?" she started thoughtfully. "You said that there was no way we can't win. So you need to live by those words and don't let any worries get to you."

 

Ari smiled at her, touched by her words. Ji-Hye had always been the more optimistic one, and she was always there to support him when he needed it. 

 

"I'll try my best to do so," he smiled.

 

Suddenly, the horn from before blared again. The five minutes the system gave them were over and the people who couldn't find a green square disappeared. Once all the stragglers were gone, a giant cube appeared, floating in the center of the field so that all the attendees could see. 

 

The cube's screens flickered for a second before it displayed a dark-haired man that was lavishly dressed man on each side. Ari easily recognized him as the CEO of VSOFT. The man was practically everywhere in the future, especially after Oasis synthetic maid robots came out. 

 

"Welcome everyone to tonight's main event!" The CEO's voice boomed through the speakers, making everyone jump. "I would like to thank all the participants for joining VSOFT for this momentous occasion. I hope everyone enjoyed all the games and the magnificent prizes you all received from the night market. However, I'm sure many of you were waiting for... hmm... I guess you would call it the jewel in the crown."

 

Ari felt like rolling his eyes at the CEO's pretentious smirk. There was something about the man's arrogance that just irritated him. He felt that guy's only saving grace was that he was giving complimentary pods away.  

 

"So without further ado," the man continued, his voice oozing with manufactured suspense. "I would like to introduce to you the final event!"

 

Within seconds of the man saying those words, the empty landscape that appeared after the night market vanished began to change. However, it wasn't for the better.  

 

Ari couldn't help but shiver when he sensed the shift occur within his surroundings. He didn't know if the company paid more for higher graphics for this event, but what he was experiencing right now felt similar to what actual virtual reality was like.  

 

Within seconds, everything had changed. The air around that once been serene grew still, almost suffocating, as if dreading what was to come. But it was only when the ground begin to move that he knew why.

 

Suddenly, the sound of faint crackling could be heard, startling all the remaining participants. As they began looking around for the source, Ari glanced at Ji-Hye, only to see that she was captivated by the scene before her. 

 

Turning his attention back to the landscape, he saw that the faint crackling were vines, or rather roots, breaking through the surface at an astounding pace. The trees expanded across the empty landscape in the shape of Burmis trees, but their shapes were more convoluted than the originals. 

 

Next to them were Sakisima-Suonoki trees with their peculiar blade-shaped roots that looked deadly but enticing, as if they were waiting for someone to touch them. From these trees, an imposing forest grew at an incredibly fast pace, one that was dark and foreboding. It was a little strange to see a once bustling night market transform into a cursed-looking forest right before his eyes. 

 

Ari turned to Ji-Hye, who still appeared mesmerized by the scene before her. "Ji-Hye," he called out softly, but she didn't respond. He reached out for her hand but stopped when a banging sound came from within the depths of the forest drawing his attention.

 

Ari gasped, realizing what it was. It was the Killerjack sharpening his axe while awaiting his victims.

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