phase 2 Treasure hunting ~

"Aah, my back. It was quite heavy to carry," Rurit said, pressing his back.

"What do you mean heavy? It was barely 25 kg of iron and copper ore," his wife taunted him before expressing gratitude to the other three teammates. "Thank you all for forming a team with us."

"It will really help our team merit if someone with experience joins, so don't think of it as a free ride," said Sately, the woman with a large weapon on her back.

"I could have found a larger one if it wasn't for my hand, right brother?" George added.

"George, did I ever teach you to lie to yourself? If not, don't make excuses and work harder," his older brother Tenn said with a serious but relaxed expression.

In the passage to Gateway 2...

"I am worried, brother, that woman might kill someone. Was it even a good idea to leave her in there for Phase 1?" George said to Tenn with a worried face.

"Do not worry. That woman seems to be the most proficient in strength among all of us. Worry about yourself right now," his brother replied, holding his hand tightly and getting squeezed in the crowd heading to Passage 2.

"What do you think the 2nd phase is?" Rurit asked, extending his neck and looking back and forth.

"Maybe some endurance test, sense of direction, survival—who knows?" Tenn replied.

Soon, the entire crowd exited the passage and entered another hall, with an intriguing building in front of them that looked like an inverted staircase, reaching up to the ceiling and leaving no space for the canopy.

"What if we are not residents of this place but came here from somewhere far away?" Yuhart, the 2nd phase invigilator, said while hanging inverted down on a very long pole.

With no reply, everyone simply stared at him. "You guys don't seem to be interested, but this is the... Leave it," Yuhart muttered to himself, scratching his other hand while remaining upside down. He stared down for a few seconds and again started rotating on the bar.

"This is Phase 2. I am not going to congratulate you for just walking to Phase 2. Before we start, please divide your team into two parts. Let's call them Party 1 and Party 2. Party 1, consisting of two members, will stay here. Party 2, the other two members, will go inside the building to observe. Party 2 will enter the building, and while entering the building, they will be provided with a Gtoken and explore for one hour. And yes, in case of any mishaps or attacks, you will be responsible for your own safety," he spoke nonchalantly while rotating his head.

"Party 2 must hide this Gtoken, which will have a unique name and display your current ranking on the token board. They need to hide the token somewhere in the small dungeon, which comprises 30 floors and 277 underground hidden floors, within the one-hour time frame. After hiding the token, Party 2 will leave for Phase 3 from the exit, which is just 2km straight from each entrance. you can see the light from exit when you enter.

You are free to tell your member where you will hide the token if you can. Deathtraps, fakes, treasure, and bonus tokens will be activated when the second party enters to find their team token. In case you find another team’s token and destroy it, you will not be awarded a token, but the other team will be disqualified. So you better hide your G-token properly so no one can find it in the dark—proproperrrllyyy. and one more thing in case if party 2 hide the G-token but somehow only 1 member reaches the phase 3 that team will be disqualified

Decide your team quickly; the one-hour timer will start in 5 minutes," he stopped his rotating head as he finished.

"He sure has an eccentric personality," Johan, nicknamed "Fatface," said to himself while looking up. He continued, "just tell me the floor where you will be hiding it and give me a range from the stair."

"I am thinking of hiding on the floor with the least crowd. I will mark the wall near the staircase with blood, so keep checking for it and maybe within 500m to 1km from the stair, but the distance may vary, so I'll leave it to you," said one of his teammates with a running nose and a drawing of "Treelover" on his right cheek, who then entered the high-rise.

"You guys, even if the winner may be from the Gya crew, I want our team to win it, so we will use our brains and win that sweet prize," Mihak announced to his three teammates and asked for any plans.

"Hey, Fuzzy, I have low eyesight, so I will be going to Phase 3," Roku, the one with the loud and cracked voice, said, followed by, "I am good at hiding things; last week I hid 6 plates of soupy potatoes from the boss, so I will also go to Party 2," said Simn, sitting excitedly side by side with Roku.

"This isn’t what I asked, and I was thinking of going in for hiding. The teams will be decided by Rock-Axe-Water," Mihak disagreed with both of them and stretched his hand.

"What about my opinion?" said the last member with the least presence, named Durat, but no one noticed him.

"Rock, Axe, Water," all four throwing different hand symbols.

Mihak was suddenly pulled by an old memory as he was staring at the four hands with different signs.

"Gramps, you cheated! I saw you change the hand sign after throwing it. I want to redo it again, and the bet is still the same—1 bowl of noodles Father bought."

"Oi oi, Fuzzy head, you better not make any excuses now; you lost," Roku said while shaking Mihak, pulling him from his past. Mihak remained silent for a few seconds before breaking it, "I really suck at this game."

"So, Durat and I will be in Party 1, and you both in Party 2. And now the main question: where will you hide it?" Mihak asked.

"Underground floors," Roku and Simn said simultaneously as they were looking forward to it.

"Draven, why are you not going? Most of the participants have gone in it. What are you waiting for?" Etir complained while itching his head as everyone had left.

"Now, we should head in. Etir, look on the top floor for the token," Draven said, suddenly standing up after sitting with his arms crossed for a few minutes.

As they entered the building, with each step inside, the light changed from yellowish to a slowly bluish damp glow. A long corridor stretched on the floor with voices echoing all over. They agreed to first observe before going to the top floor. The corridor was very long, with many entries on both sides of different sizes randomly.

"It says it costs 1 token to enter this door, and this one says it takes 3 tokens," said another miner who entered with Draven.

Curiously, he chose to open the gate that cost 1 token per person and went inside. Along the way, you could see worry on people's faces as they tried to find a place where no one could find them. Many were desperate to find the way to the underground pathway, trying different things. Some were searching in the wall for a hidden key while trying not to stand out. A few went inside the doors of different sizes.

he went in the path and keep taking random turns until he reached a chest, and as he opened it cautiously, he was surprised to see it empty. "One of such doors might have an entrance to the ground floor, but that is also not confirmed," he said to himself and picked up the small empty box with him. "We are not wasting time, let's go," Draven said as he quickly moved to the floor above without wasting much time.

"Despite being on the first floor, you managed to find an open space with no one around. Your observation skills are impressive!" Stark commended Renard as they had hidden their G-token and were leaving.

"I just hope those in Party 1 find it. I told them about the range, but I still think it is hidden well," Renard muttered slowly.

[^12] Death and gore are normal in events and allowed to broadcast in all sectors. In case any person dies in mining sites, secret events, or cases involving the black market, it is not the responsibility of anyone aside from the individuals.