Chapitre 53: Furthermore, the Secretary-General urged every nation to bolster support for families impacted by these disappearances.

Chapter 53 - Stage 1 (Survivor) - 3

*Author note: Changing the present tense narrative to past tense narrative*

"Escape a Locked Area, is it?" Vesper muttered to himself, contemplating the challenges ahead.

The match had already begun the moment they were allowed to prepare their gear. Following Alanna's guidance, guardians were typically twice as strong as survivors in normal mode, and in Terror Mode, the gap widened even further. Guns were only effective against zombie-type guardians. Against others, they were useless.

But it was the guardians, especially the elite ones, that intrigued him the most. Alanna had warned Vesper that these statues were once survivors who had embraced the monster curse and regained sentience, now unleashed to hunt survivors like hunters in search of rewards and freedom from their curses.

Preparing for the impending match, Vesper navigated his system menu to access the credit shop and searched for a specific item - Potions. The cheapest one cost a whopping 1,000 credits!

Quietly and discreetly, Vesper purchased a yellow potion, transferring a vial of yellow liquid to his stash. He turned around, keeping his back to Jackson, then carefully stashed the potion in his jacket. Following this, he purchased a white potion, a more expensive choice at 5,000 credits, depleting most of his remaining credits, and leaving him with just 148.60 credits.

Instead of stashing the white potion, Vesper held onto the vial and approached the statue, revealing it to Jackson. The butcher's anticipation was palpable, his desire to tear Vesper apart and seize the potion evident.

Vesper sneered at the statue. "I assume you know what this is. If you want it, prove your usefulness to me, and I'll free you from your curse."

The elder statue glared at Vesper and the white potion, silently nodding before shifting his gaze to Noah and the man from the Middle East.

Noah had been observing Vesper's actions curiously. Unable to contain his curiosity, he inquired, "What is that potion?"

"It's a resurrection potion," Vesper smirks. "It allows a survivor to resurrect without penalty once. It can also remove specific curses."

The man from the Middle East narrowed his eyes before accessing the credit shop himself. After some searching, he found a similar potion with the same bottle and color. Upon reading its name, description, price, and usage details, he pointed his long spear at Vesper's neck without hesitation.

"Hand over that potion, or die," the man demanded.

Vesper sneered, "Coveting someone else's item? Are you sure you want to do this before the match? You only have three lives, you know."

"That resurrection potion, give it here!"

The man lunged with his spear, coveting the potion. But his movement was slower than Vesper had anticipated. With a tilt of his neck, Vesper dodged the spear tip and swiftly counterattacked with a killing spell.

"Magic Missile!"

The wane in Vesper's jacket activated, manifesting a crystal ball that shot a streak of light at the man's chest.

"!!!"

Caught off guard, the magic missile punctured through the man's chest, causing him to collapse in a pool of blood. However, this lobby automatically healed wounds, and soon the man was regaining consciousness.

Vesper didn't give him the chance to recuperate. He stomped on the man's back, pressing him to the ground, and retrieved an axe from his chest.

The axe was a gift from Alanna to use in this situation. It was a fifth-grade weapon, specialized in murdering other survivors.

Executioner's Axe (5th Grade) (Cursed)

This ancient weapon, once wielded by a medieval executioner, is imbued with the restless spirit of its former owner. Upon wielding it, the owner is bound by a haunting curse: they must execute a human within 24 hours, or risk being possessed by the vengeful spirit until another life is taken.

The Executioner's Axe is exceptionally sharp, capable of cleaving through any survivor whose vitality is below 500. However, it holds no power against undead beings or guardians.

Without hesitation, Vesper swung the axe at the man's nape!

*CHOP*

With just one powerful swing, his head separated from his neck, his body dissipating into ash.

After dispatching the man, Vesper scoffed and picked up the long spear the man had dropped, placing it in his box along with the axe without paying heed to Noah's gaze. He then secured the potion in his jacket, preparing to take it to the stage.

Noah had witnessed everything. He checked the credit shop, searching for the resurrection potion to understand its usage. When he finished reading, he grasped the situation.

"Why did you provoke the monster with that thing?" Noah asked, puzzled.

Vesper silently walked toward the magic circle, standing on it and ignoring the question.

Noting how Vesper ignored the question, Noah stopped seeking answers. He finished his preparations and stood in the other magic circle.

The billboard confirmed their readiness and bid them farewell.

As the magic circles unleashed two beacons of light, they instantly knocked them unconscious.

The strange pain in his ankles and the swelling headache jolted Vesper awake. He snapped open his eyes and discovered himself hanging upside down in a dark room. Looking around, he found Noah, suspended 10 meters away from him in the same position.

They were both suspended 2 meters in the air.

*DING*

Vesper deeply inhaled, calming his nerves. He curled his body, exerting his abs, and grabbed his legs. Adjusting his posture, he felt a thick rope tying his ankles to the ceiling pipe.

'Magic Missile.'

In an emergency, Vesper activated his spell and shot the missile at the rope, sending him crashing down onto the hard concrete floor. Falling two meters, his back and left shoulder hit the ground first, momentarily numbing him. The hot and humid floor scorched his skin, forcing him to get back on his feet.

Fortunately, Vesper wore a pair of thick boots. After standing up, he managed to escape from the almost boiling wet floor.

*THUD*

Noah also managed to regain his senses and free himself from the restraints five seconds later. He coughed and struggled to breathe due to the thin hot air around them.

Vesper loosened the rope from his ankles and got back on his feet. He patted his jacket, checking the items in his pockets. As he had prepared, the wane and two potions were still with him.

Vesper's left eye glowed in the dark, providing him with night vision.

The room was pitch black. Judging from the rusty water pipes and occasional white smoke coming out from the boiler tank in the same room, Vesper believed that they were trapped in a maze or a boiler complex. However, the walls made from natural soil revealed that they might be underground.

Water in the pipe roared every time it traveled through the pipelines. Intense heat leaked from the small holes, filling the room with white-hot smoke.

*COUGH*

Noah was still coughing. He waved his hands in front of his face, swatting away the hot air. Struggling to see the surroundings, he crouched and looked around the room, searching for the exit.

Vesper didn't wait for Noah to move first. He located the only steel door in the room and rushed toward it. Grabbing the steel door's handle, his leather gloves sizzled as the intense heat fried them.

Ignoring the heat, Vesper exerted all his force, pulling as hard as he could.

*CLANK*

It was stuck!

It was locked from the outside!

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