Olive laid himself flat on the ground.

One knee bent while the other leg dragged straight along the floor. His chest rose unevenly and each breath forced a wet cough from his throat.

Dark blood spilled from the corner of his mouth and spread across the floor beneath his cheek.

He lifted his head a little and looked at Fei Ming.

"You’re not human... are you?"

Fei Ming stood a short distance away with the blade still in his hand. The edge remained steady for a moment before he lowered it. He stepped back and the weapon vanished from his grip, pulled into his inventory without a sound.

"You broke an arm," he said.

He gave no other reply.

Several faction members had gathered around the edges of the training ground during the exchange. Their bodies shifted uneasily while they watched the two men. A few whispered among themselves, trying to make sense of Olive’s words, but Fei Ming offered nothing further.

Olive pushed his palm against the floor and let out a low chuckle. The sound came out strained.

Rolling onto his side, he slowly forced himself upright. His left arm loosely dangled for a moment before the muscles tightened again. Bone settled back into place under the skin while the limb regained movement.

"Your wounds heal faster than any awakener I’ve seen," Olive said while flexing his hand. "And just now you hit me with enough strength to shatter bone in one strike."

He raised his eyes toward Fei Ming.

"Something’s wrong here."

His breathing slowed while he studied the young man in front of him.

"Back in the carnival game you kept playing the weak one," he continued. "Now you’re not even pretending."

Olive’s gaze sharpened. ’He stopped hiding,’ he thought.

Fei Ming watched him for a moment.

His eyes moved once across Olive’s posture and the arm that had already recovered, scoffing out loud as he said, "You’re an awakener too."

He lifted a hand and pointed at Olive’s arm. "Your wound healed as well."

His tone remained flat. "Does that make you non-human?"

Olive’s eyes widened. ’He deflected my question again.’

Before he could answer, a deep man’s voice cut through. "That’s enough."

Light walked in through the side corridor and stopped when he saw the two men facing each other. His gaze moved from the blood on the floor to Olive standing with a newly restored arm.

The gathered members stepped aside while he approached.

Waving a hand at them, he added, "Enough staring. Leave."

The onlookers quickly dispersed, muttering among themselves while they returned to their training spots or slipped out of the training ground.

Reaching out to Olive, Light gripped his shoulder, helping him straighten fully.

"You two," he said while glancing between them and gritting his teeth together. "if you’re looking for a reason to fight, I can give you a much better one."

He stepped between them and pushed Olive forward until the two men stood almost chest to chest.

Their bodies stopped inches apart. The scent of sweat filled the narrow space between them. They were like two kids begrudgingly forced to hug each other after a fist fight.

Folding his arms, Light continued, "And you, Olive... When was the last time you entered a game arena?"

Olive blinked. "Huh?"

Light pointed toward the edge of the yard where Helena walked away with Xia a few steps behind her. "Join Helena’s team and Xia’s for today’s game raid."

Hearing this, Helena shouted. "What?!" she froze mid-step and turned back sharply. "But Mr. Light—!"

"The more people we send, the faster things get solved," Light interrupted.

His gaze shifted toward Fei Ming. "Right, Fateless?"

"Hmm." Fei Ming gave a small nod.

That was enough.

Clapping his hands together once, satisfaction clear in the relaxed lift of the older man’s shoulders.

"Then it’s settled," he said. "You can treat this as training. I’ll assign Eli as your team mentor for the run."

He waved them off. "Go. Get along well!"

Helena’s jaw tightened as she turned away. She walked toward the door with short, irritated steps. Xia followed behind her with a quiet laugh under her breath while Olive rubbed the back of his neck and glanced once more at Fei Ming.

Within minutes the training ground emptied again.

Helena continued muttering to herself as they crossed the compound yard.

She could not protest too loudly. The plague spreading through the districts had already taken too many lives. Every faction had begun searching the game realms for materials that could help produce a cure.

The disease now had a name.

Ymir Plague.

The search would continue whether she liked the team arrangement or not.

---

Nine figures stood at the edge of a clearing deep within the forest. Thick trees surrounded the area on every side, their branches blocking most of the sky. In the middle of that clearing stood a massive casino building.

Tall marble pillars lined the entrance. Neon lights flickered above rows of windows while golden letters flickered across the front wall.

Helena rested one hand against her hip, looking at the structure.

"Well," she said, breaking the silence. She wore a white and gold armor reflecting the faint glow from the building.

"That’s the game arena, alright."

A middle-aged man stood at the front of the group. His head was completely shaved and a black eyepatch covered his right eye. The exposed hazel eye scanned the team behind him before he spoke.

"If anyone here is afraid of entering this game..." he said, his voice stern and cold. "...step back now."

Gaze lingering on each face, the bald man added:

"I’m serious."

However, no one moved.

The man sighed. "Good. I’m Eli," he stated. "Light assigned me as your mentor for today."

Lifting his hand toward the casino doors, he turned his back at them, viewing the casino closed doors. "We go in together."

Pausing briefly, he looked back at them before adding one final line.

"I only have one rule." His visible eye narrowed slightly.

"Don’t make me explain to Light why I came back without you."

Eli walked toward the entrance.

Fei Ming followed with the others. His gaze moved across the group while they approached the doors.

Helena walked near the front beside Xia. Olive kept several steps behind them while adjusting the straps along his arm guard.

The remaining members were unfamiliar faces. Two more women and three men moved quietly among the group, keeping their eyes on the building ahead.

Five men, four women. They were nine in total.

The casino doors opened.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the world collapsed into blinding light.

A violent swirl of color burst across their vision. Red, blue, green, and violet streams twisted together and rushed toward them. The force seized their bodies and dragged them forward.

Fei Ming felt his muscles tighten as the pressure crushed against him. His ribs compressed while the air inside his lungs pushed out in a short breath.

The pull lasted only seconds.

Then—

STINGGG!

The pressure vanished, and the light cleared from his vision.

Fei Ming opened his eyes and found himself standing in a wide circular chamber.

At the center of that space was a large iron pot. Its surface had turned dark with age and patches of mold spread along the rim. Inside it were piles of gold coins that filled the container halfway.

"What?" one of the women in their group exclaimed.

Many other players stood scattered across the chamber. Most of them already held gold coins in their hands. Counting the players, Fei Ming noted that they were close to fourty.

A runic board ignited above the crowd.

Bright blue symbols burned across its surface.

[Welcome, Players!]

The glowing text expanded.

[Welcome to the game: Euphoria!]

[Difficulty: B]

[Current Players: 43]

[We seem to have hit the jackpot! Oh, how many special people are in here!]

[Please hold on!]

’Huh.’ Fei Ming lifted his head and scanned the surrounding players again.

The system’s words had drawn his attention to the group more carefully this time.

Several men stood together near the far side of the chamber. Their clothing matched the military pattern used by Krat soldiers. Sheathed swords rested against their belts.

Luckily, his bounty had been cleared. There was no need to hide from them. But he still needed to be careful around them.

He continued looking across the gathering.

Then his gaze stopped.

Among the crowd stood someone holding an open black umbrella.

The person remained perfectly still. It was a girl he had never seen before. This only made him wonder why the lady was with an umbrella in a game realm with no climate change.

’Unless the umbrella itself is a weapon,’ he thought.

Fei Ming shifted his attention back to the rusty, moldy pot.

The gold coins inside it gleamed under the chamber lights.

A new message appeared.

[Please pick as many coins as you can!]

Members of their team stepped forward.

Helena reached the pot first and grabbed several coins before moving aside. Others followed quickly.

Olive stopped beside the container and leaned forward slightly. His eyes narrowed.

The coins inside were not identical.

Some were larger, others noticeably smaller.

He reached down and picked five coins of uneven size before stepping away.

Fei Ming too, grabbed his own share

The runic board flashed again.

[All players have been fully equipped with game coins!]

It flickered, turning into a glitching mess. Then it stopped.

[Update: Game Realm Difficulty Has Been Changed!]

[Difficulty: SS.]

Voices erupted across the chamber. "What?!"

"It never shifts like this," one muttered. "SS? Never heard of that rank."

Even Eli voiced his surprise. "That’s a new game difficulty."

The runic board split in half.

[Loading...]

Ding!

[New Game Ranks have been unlocked!]

[New Game Rules are currently being written.]

[Game Beasts have evolved to a higher tier.]

"The hell?" someone shouted from the crowd.

[There Is Now A New ’Boss’ Tier!]

[Prizes are being evaluated!]

The board flickered again.

Then everything went dark.

Complete blackness swallowed the chamber.

Several voices rose in alarm while bodies shifted around Fei Ming. Eli’s voice cut through the confusion as he tried to calm the team.

Fei Ming stood still. He did not know exactly what was happening, but the system’s mention of "special people" matched what Xia had once said about heaven’s rejecteds. The game seemed to be adjusting to their presence.

His fingers closed slightly around the coin in his hand. ’Or maybe the Force behind this game was behind this adjustment.’

The runic board flared open again. This time it stretched across the chamber wall with a deeper blue glow. Smaller runic symbols spun rapidly along its edges.

[Fully updated!]

[Welcome to the game: The Fool’s Euphoria!]

[Listen to the new rules!]