Kai kept a neutral look on his face, but inside he was in deep thought.
So it's like playing a game on hard mode? That must mean its card's abilities must be really insane.
Kai has played his fair share of games in the real world, and in every one of them, if there's a game mode that allows a hard difficulty, then it usually means there's a reward in doing so.
"Death? Misfortune? Sounds fun." Ryker on the other hand, was immediately intrigued. He also had the same thought as Kai and was excited to know more.
"What's the requirement to join The Spades Faction? Do I need to jump into a pit of lava or be eaten alive by some crazy monster?"
"Maybe I need to stab my own heart and live?" Ryker asked.
His questions got the wizard-looking man to stare deeply at him.
It was so deep that it got Ryker laughing awkwardly.
"I know I am handsome, but I have to respectfully reject your non-existent proposal." Ryker scratched his cheek.
Seeing him get embarrassed, the wizard-looking man said, "I can speak for everyone in The Pack Games when I say nobody knows what the requirement to join the Spades Faction is."
Ryker was about to open his mouth, but he continued. "Even if we wanted to ask, Spades Handlers are usually solo players who like to stay alone. You won't even know they are Spades Handlers unless they choose to reveal their cards."
"Not just that, but..." His eyes flashed with uncertainty as he continued, "It's unknown whether Spades players still exist in The Pack Games after what happened..."
Before he could finish, he paused and shook his head.
"It seems like I have said too much."
Kai realized too but didn't say anything. His eyes flashed with regret as he noticed he wasn't going to get any more information out of him.
"We will take our leave." Kai grabbed Ryker by the head and forced him to bow.
He bowed as well.
"Thank you for saving us."
The wizard-looking man nodded as he noted, "We likely won't meet again, but my name is Officer#9373. It was a pleasure to meet two potential kings."
"Remember to be cautious of the Hearts Faction. Especially Amore," he warned.
"If he ever spots you in the lobby or the games, he will definitely kill you."
Ryker chuckled, his hands on the back of his head. "We already defeated that whore once. A second time won't be a problem."
"You think so?" Officer#9373 questioned.
"The Amore you fought was just a bug created by him to enter low-ranked games without facing any consequences. The real Amore? Even I don't know how much he hides his power. Some even say his real body is actually a she..."
He then warned again, "There are a lot of things you don't know about The Pack Games. After all, you two are new and have only won one game, so don't start getting arrogant."
"The fact that you two are the first of your species to join the games also means you are in extreme danger. So don't just treat this as an actual game."
"Get strong quickly, or else your future will be endless suffering," he finished.
He gave the two another nod, looked at the chef who still couldn't get off the ground, and then took his leave.
Clubs players seem to be really cool people.
Kai exclaimed. He gave Officer#9373's message some thought but just shrugged it off in the end.
Let's just take things slow. For now, let's join a Faction.
He smiled with an anticipated look, pushing the irrelevant thoughts out of his head.
He was about to leave as well, but Ryker had different plans.
"If it isn't our old friend Key_Warrior!"
Ryker waved his hand at a player short in height. That player was surprised to know he was spotted.
He was about to make a run for it, but Ryker was quicker.
Ryker grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him up like a child to face him.
"Why don't you greet me back, old friend?" he asked, unable to hide his smile.
Key_Warrior, seeing that smile filled with nothing but bad intentions, shivered.
"Can you put me down?" he grunted, his cheeks puffed out like an angered child.
"Hehe, I would love to do that, but you see that wizard cast a spell on me!" Ryker chuckled.
Key_Warrior could see where this was going and sighed.
"How much do you want?" he asked, feeling a great deal of embarrassment and sadness take over him.
"Don't be like that, old pal! If it wasn't for the cursed spell that wizard placed on me..."
"Yeah-yeah, whatever. So how much do you want?" Key_Warrior didn't buy anything he said.
Ryker also realized this and put him down.
"A hundred white chips would do," he stated when Kai walked over.
"Another hundred for saving your life," Kai added.
"You two... this is robbery!" Key_Warrior cried. He already felt a lot of pain parting with the white chips he earned from winning Killer's Table, but to add another hundred to the list?
"I barely have enough! How does 120 white chips sound?" he bargained.
"You're so poor and can afford so many dishes at this restaurant?" Ryker raised an eyebrow. Truth is, from the moment he entered this restaurant, he had already spotted Key_Warrior.
He saw all the dishes he bought and thought he had enough to go wild in this dinner. He never would have thought everything here was so expensive.
"Is money worth your life?" Kai also jumped in.
"Very much! You two are still newbies, so let me tell you. Even a life can be bought with money!" Key_Warrior answered.
Kai and Ryker laughed at his answer.
Their eyes quickly became filled with killing intent.
"In that case, we are buying your life. Pay up or die," Ryker whispered, his voice filled with malice.
"Since we saved your life, we can also take it away whenever we like," Kai also whispered, his tone flat and lifeless, just like the wizard-looking man.
"You two are no different than gangsters! White chips aren't even a premium currency! They are just there for poor folks like us..." Key_Warrior truly felt like crying at that moment.
He took out two hundred white chips and handed them over to Kai.
"Can I leave now?" he asked, his voice soft and lacking energy.
Kai was impressed.
"Your acting skills are top-notch." His comment made Key_Warrior nervous.
Seeing him start sweating, Kai put the chips away.
"That's enough." He nodded and grabbed Ryker, who looked like he was about to ask for more.
They left the dinner.
Key_Warrior watched them leave and let out a sigh of relief.
"Those two freaks are not simple to deal with," he noted, feeling like the term suited them well.
"We likely won't ever meet again. The Pack Games is a huge place, so I don't have to worry about them after this. Let's just say that karma had a play in us meeting again. They saved my life, and in turn, I owed them. Now, I don't owe them anything," he told himself.
He looked at the chef, who passed out due to the pain, and praised, "Butcher had over 30 wins under him and could be considered a D-rank player, and yet he was defeated by two newbies..."
"I wonder how far they can reach in the games..."
.
On the streets again, Kai and Ryker walked towards a specific location with the game system guiding them.
They soon arrived at an open space with a large fountain.
On top of this fountain were statues depicting different people.
One of them was a naked woman with leaves covering her private parts.
Her face had some kind of magic that made people want to look even closer, even though it was just a statue.
In the middle of her head was a bright red heart.
The other statue was of a man in robes and a pointy hat.
He held a book in his hands, and his mouth was open as if he was reading the contents of the book.
Strangely enough, although his mouth could not move, Kai and Ryker felt like they had to kneel and obey this statue.
On his head was a black clubs.
The third statue was shorter than the rest and looked like a little boy. However, this little boy held what seemed like a hundred-sided die in his hands.
Kai was surprised when he saw this die. It didn't depict numbers from 1–100; instead, all sides were 100!
It was as if this die was telling him that in life, you should always aim for 100% and nothing less!
It got Kai thinking about how he treated his life back on Earth.
Never trying, always giving up because it's all meaningless...
On this third statue's head was a deep-colored red depicting the symbol diamond!
I am definitely choosing diamond! Kai thought, with excitement written on his face.
The last statue was rather plain. There was nothing unique about it, and both Kai and Ryker didn't feel anything emanating from the statue.
It didn't even have a symbol on its head.
"Is that supposed to be Spades? Looks rather boring." Ryker clicked his tongue, disappointed.
"So how do we enter and become Handlers?" he asked.
"The game system says to just go up to the statue of the faction you want to join and look at the symbol on their head," Kai said.
"Alright, you first!" Ryker rushed.
Kai gave him a look but just shook his head.
"Good luck," he said before walking up to the diamond statue.
"Heh, I should be the one saying that!" Ryker chuckled.
Kai ignored him and stopped beside the statue.
He looked at the diamond symbol, and it flashed.
His body disappeared.