Game On👾⚔️⚔️⚔️

Episode Five: The Merger Maze; Maze for Hade

(Shadow Web 🕸️🃏🃏🃏)

The people in the game were as stunned as Ricky. They looked at the platform where the light was coming from.

Ricky saw a woman in her late thirties. She sat on the floor and cried bitterly.

“I have only one life,” she lamented. “I cannot make it!”

Everyone looked at her for a while, but eventually, they looked away.

Then, a girl with dyed pink hair came to her. She was eighteen or so. She started consoling the crying woman.

Two girls were asking around about what the game was all about. They went to Ricky and said, “Hi, I’m Mia. She’s Gareth.” Mia smiled.

“We’ve been asking if anyone knows what this is all about. Do you care if you…” Gareth asked while smiling widely.

“Sorry to break it to you, I don’t know what this is about,” Ricky said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Thanks, Mister,” Mia said and left with Gareth. They continued asking people about the world.

The consoling girl had heard them talking to Ricky. She stood up and went to them.

“Hello? I’m Stacey, and I think I can help you,” the consoling girl said.

“I’m Mia. She’s…”

“Quit that. I heard you talking with him,” Stacey said, pointing to Ricky. “First, give me your player money—$150 each.”

Gareth and Mia looked at each other.

“We don’t know about that,” Gareth told Stacey.

“Just click on the right side of your suit,” Stacey said as she touched the button. A screen appeared before them. “Touch ‘Trade’ at the bottom, beside ‘Forge.’”

Gareth looked at Mia, and they both touched it. Two spaces appeared like this:

_____ for _____.

“Click on the first blank, select ‘Money,’ and choose $150.”

Mia did it, but Gareth hesitated.

“On the next space, write ‘Information about the game.’”

Mia finished before Stacey had even finished talking. Gareth reluctantly typed it and waited for Stacey’s instructions.

“Good! Now, tell them who you are transferring the money to. I am Player 502.”

She looked at Gareth and Mia.

“Mia, stop!” Gareth called her out. “The $150 is our only money, don’t you know? Why trade it for information? In fact, she wants both of us to give her $300. Why doesn’t she show us how much she has and prove that she isn’t desperate to strip us of our money, just like she’s been stripped of hers? No one helps this way, Mia.”

“Stop it, Gareth. She’s helping us, and all we could do is give her monetary payment,” Mia cried out.

“Monetary means all, Mia! You never know what information she has for you. Your money is priceless.”

Gareth left. She somehow knew how to switch off her screen and walked away.

“You know about my profile now, while I know nothing about yours.”

“Don’t mind her,” Mia told Stacey.

“Gareth, I won’t forgive you if you walk away!”

Gareth stopped and looked behind herself. Then, she walked off.

“No, I don’t mind. Just finish it,” Stacey said.

Mia did it, and Stacey taught her a lot of icons on her screen, explaining what each one did and what the others were for. She taught her for a while before leaving.

One strange thing was that the people who were beside them couldn't hear them. They didn’t even hear a whisper until Stacey said that was all.

Mia was practising some of the icons on her screen when her eyes met Gareth’s. She frowned and looked away.

After a while, a screen appeared. The Umpire Key avatar appeared on it, the same one that had appeared on the screen earlier.

“Welcome, everyone, to the game arena. I am the system for this game.

Game: The Merger Maze.

Quest: Merge with the “Gate of Life” before the maze merges with Hade.

Game Money: £20.

Scope: Merge with the “Gate of Life,” merge objects, and use defence and attack to move and gain objects.

Rewards: Unknown.”

The male computer voice came from the screen.

They went closer to the screen. There was chattering around the arena.

Then, a man raised his hand. He spoke up.

“Can you tell us how to play it?”

“You can download the guide on your system and watch it,” the game system said.

“Give up! The file is the same as what he said,” the woman who was crying said to the man.

She turned and saw Gareth standing hopelessly behind her.

“I would advise you to stay away from your friend. If she can swindle you out of your total player money, she’s up to no good. Trust nobody in this game. Not even a crying lady before you learn the hard way like me.”

She looked at Gareth.

“Go, right now, before the game.”

Gareth went to her friend, who was standing a meter and a half behind Stacey.

“Mia, we need to leave this place.”

She grabbed Mia, trying to make her follow her.

“Just leave me alone,” Mia said and pushed her away.

“Look, Mia, I know that you are upset. But I learned that she is dangerous.”

Gareth held her sleeve gently.

Stacey turned back and looked at Gareth. She smiled and waved at her.

“Hi, Gareth.”

Gareth kept quiet. She looked away.

“Don’t be rude to her, Gareth,” Mia confronted her.

Gareth left her and went to the crying lady. She stood still and continued watching Stacey.

“I think your friend has a grudge against me,” Stacey said. “I just wanted to help, and that is all.”

“Don’t mind her. She’s always like that,” Mia said.

After a few minutes, which felt like three minutes, the graphic of that place changed into a maze.

The maze was made of tall green grass. The grass was built into blocks, making the walls tall and opaque.

“You have an hour to merge with the Gate of Life before Hade merges with its maze,” the system said.

Everyone was quiet for a while until the sound of each of their systems said:

“Award of £20.”

“Game starts!” the game system announced.

Ricky’s system announced to him:

“Player 596. Status: Online.”

Every system announced the information to its master individually and privately.

The next disturbance came when Stacey bought a sword and used it to strike the person before her. There was a commotion.

As she was about to strike Mia, Gareth pushed her away.

Mia ran, realizing everything. But Gareth fell to the floor.

Before she could stand again, Stacey had stabbed her.

Gareth vanished.

Gareth appeared six meters away from Mia. She turned to look at Mia.

“Player 599. Life status: Minus one. Two hearts remaining,” Gareth’s system announced to her alone.

Stacey kept attacking everybody.

“Run, don’t stop, Mia!” she said.

Both of them ran away.

“So, this is the game?” Mia asked, scared and amazed by what had happened.

“No, this is Merger Maze,” Gareth corrected her.