"Yo! You are coming right?" Alex called out.
"Yes… we are just behind," Ray answered, his eyes fixed on the dome above his head. It was a transparent, bowl-like structure, inverted, with a virtual screen showing 'The Safe Zone'.
Ray and Hana then joined the group of three who couldn't wait to reach the location of the first mini-game.
"Hey Ray! You are okay, right?" Rohan asked. He was the simplest guy in the group and someone who cared about any small problem.
Ray showed him a wide smile with reassured words, "It's all good. That was the past, buddy, and I'm not concerned about it."
Then, as they stepped out of the dome, a notification alert came to them.
[You have exited the safe zone.]
[Your entry to the safe zone has been restricted for three hours.]
[Warning: While being out of the safe zone, you might lose your health or die.]
"Huh! We can't go back for three hours? Was there such a rule?" Ray asked upon exiting the safe zone; this was the first time he had heard about such a thing.
"Haven't you read the manual or the online forum about the game before entering it?" Aaliyah questioned.
Ray brushed his hair, "After reading the top headlines, I skipped other things."
"Like everyone must be aware of such a small thing, but Ray being Ray," Alex chuckled, making fun of Ray's usual habit of ignoring things.
Hana then began explaining as the group started heading towards the location of the first mini-game.
"You can check the details in your status panel, but I know you won't because it's boring to read such information, so listen carefully, you dummy."
"There are several safe zones around this city, but you can't just enter any because there is a cool-down period for every safe zone, and during that period, you are open to being targeted by others."
"In simple words, they are telling us to survive against zombies, mutated beasts, NPCs, and even other players who might target us for our loot."
Ray thought he had missed this significant information, which might come in handy in the game, but still, he might have known when he spent time in the game.
Hana continued, "One more important thing which you might have missed if you haven't gone through the game forum." Her tone became serious.
Ray focused on her words, "There are already many who were attacked by other players, but not only that, there are NPCs mixed with them, and even the name of a guild was mentioned who were murdering players for their loot."
"Players teaming with NPCs? This is something I haven't thought about, but aren't we at the early phase of the game? What can they take from us if we literally have nothing?"
"No, you dummy! We are still a week behind others, and after going through the first mini-game, those who have cleared it got many items; some are even mentioned in the forum."
"Don't tell me that the magic sword which was trending online was real?" he asked, remembering something he had seen online but ignored, thinking it wouldn't be possible when the game had just launched a few days ago.
"Yes, and there are many things much crazier than you can think," Hana smiled, then continued, "We also might get things like that once we complete our first mini-game."
Just then, they walked through a ruined city. Broken buildings, looted stores, and the further they were from the safe zone, they even came across dead beast bones mixed with human remains.
The safe zone was deliberately created in a fallen city that was once filled with zombies and beasts, but as the first batch of beta testers came to the game, they cleared the path to the safe zone.
During this period, Ray was getting notifications from his skill, but he was intentionally ignoring it, especially when he was with his friends.
What other options did he have besides ignoring it? What would he say if they asked, "What skill is that?" And he would proudly answer, "Garbage picking skill!"
…
After a half an hour journey, without encountering any problems, they all reached a place that was filled with players.
Here was a big portal with a virtual screen above it showing 'Mini-game', and at the bottom were thousands of players who were looking for a team to clear this first mini-game.
As Ray's eyes scanned his surroundings, his gaze landed on a couple surrounded by dozens of players, both male and female. All were requesting to join their team, but the couple ignored them, stating they were already in a team.
Then his eyes met the woman who, for a moment, looked at him but then shifted her gaze to his friends.
"Fiona!" Aaliyah called the woman and ran towards her. Seeing the group approaching, others began to make way for them.
Ray deliberately slowed down. Though he had moved on from his feelings for her, seeing her after years made him question her for leaving him without telling him anything. But he suppressed his feelings, and with a smile on his face, he greeted her.
"It's been a long time." He extended his hand. She then greeted him with the same smile, "Indeed, a long time, how are you?" she asked.
"Good! All good… things are better than before," he spoke, but this wasn't what he wanted to ask. Then, seeing her smiling at Ray, Dustin spoke, "I'm aware of all your friends, but who might this be?"
He asked, looking at Ray, who then shook hands with Dustin. "I'm Ray, we were college friends."
Dustin wore the same smile, "Oh Ray, right-right. I'm Dustin, her boyfriend."
Ray wanted to squeeze his hand as he could see that this man deliberately feigned obliviousness about his existence, as if this was the first time he had heard about him. Still, he chose to ignore it.
Then after greetings, Dustin, who was leading the team (or so he claimed, and others didn't question it), spoke. "Before challenging the first mini-game, we should discuss our unique abilities."
'He is right. Our chances of clearing the mini-game will be higher if we assign jobs to each other, and for that, knowing their unique ability is a must, but… I don't want to,' Ray thought but didn't question when others agreed without hesitation.