Chapter 7: Find The Fool

After the countdown reached one, a total of 21 players had arrived at the destination point.

And right in front of the gate, a man dressed like an office worker stumbled forward, with wounds all over his body.

"Wait! I'm in front of the gate!" He shouted desperately.

Adam recognized the man. Back when he first woke up, this man was the first person Adam saw on this island.

[Time has run out]

[Disqualifying players who did not arrive at the destination]

Adam and the others watched as the man struggled to walk. But when the time reached zero, the man suddenly began to act strangely.

"No! No! Give me a few more seconds! Please!" His face contorted, and his hands grasped his neck as if trying to protect it from something.

But there was no response, and eventually, a red line appeared around his neck.

"No!!!"

Splash!!

His head suddenly exploded, sending pieces of flesh and brain matter in all directions. His body fell slowly, and silence enveloped the area, making the atmosphere eerie.

Only Adam seemed shocked; the other players appeared more composed but with grim expressions.

As if they had become accustomed to it and started to accept the situation.

After a while, Adam began to calm down.

[The Sun card has returned to the starting point]

"He was the holder of The Sun card," Elly murmured quietly.

Adam had guessed earlier about these cards. Whether it was The Hanged Man he held, The High Priestess held by Leon, or The Sun held by the player who had just been disqualified, they were all part of the major arcana deck. It fit with the name of the game, "Game Of Arcana."

[Twenty-one players successfully reached the destination point on time]

[Congratulations to the players]

[Next is the opening of the second wave]

The players attentively watched as text appeared one after another on the giant system screen in the air, accompanied by a monotonous voice that sounded like an emotionless woman, as if it were the voice of the system itself. Adam had heard it before; it was no longer unfamiliar to him.

[Second wave of the game is called "Find The Fool"]

[One of the participants present at the destination point has The Fool card. The game will proceed simply]

[Every night at nine, a discussion session will be held to vote to disqualify the player with The Fool card. If the holder of The Fool card is successfully disqualified, the game will end, and the surviving players will proceed to the third wave]

[The holder of The Fool card is given special rights. At the beginning of the discussion session, the holder of The Fool card can guess the card owned by another player during voting. If their guess is correct, the player in question will be disqualified. If their guess is wrong, the holder of The Fool card will experience a side effect. When only three players remain, the holder of The Fool card will win the game and proceed to the third wave with the other two players]

[The player voted out at the end of the session will be automatically disqualified, regardless of whether they are the holder of The Fool card or not]

Listening, Leon suddenly gaped, his face turning pale.

"So, this is a two-sided game; the holder of The Fool card will win by disqualifying other players, while the holders of other cards will win by finding the holder of The Fool card." Adam then glanced at Leon, who was now starting to break into a cold sweat. "So far, Leon is the only player who has revealed the card he holds; I wonder what he's thinking now?" Adam mused to himself.

[The game has no time limit]

[The Black Castle is a safe point; murder is taboo. Violators will be disqualified]

"That means the game will only end if one side wins," Adam began to understand the rules of the game.

[When the sun rises, the game will begin, and all players will leave the castle, returning when the discussion session begins]

[If there are players who do not participate in the discussion session due to certain conditions, their card will be mentioned as a lost card in the discussion session]

[To adjust the game balance, if there are two or more players who do not participate in the discussion session, the cards will still be mentioned as lost cards but will not be specifically attributed to any player]

[Players holding The Fool card will not be able to guess players who do not participate in the session until the next session. If a player does not participate in the discussion session twice in a row, that player will be disqualified]

[If the player with The Fool card does not participate in the discussion session, the game will automatically end, and the player will be disqualified along with all other players without exception]

[The most important thing in the game is that each player will have a different mission every day. Players must complete their missions promptly to participate in the discussion session]

[Enjoy the game!]

The blue screen disappeared suddenly, leaving silence in its wake. The atmosphere was bitter, and the players began to suspect each other.

The most noticeable figure was Leon, with a pale face and trembling lips, sitting slumped on the ground.

Nightfall came, and time seemed to drag on slowly.

As Adam calmly relaxed, awaiting the start of the game, he was startled by two men approaching him.

The first man had a simple appearance, wearing a dark green patterned shirt, with a bald head and a muscular build, clearly displaying his military background. He carried a military knife twice the size of Adam's. His sharp brown eyes pierced through.

The other man appeared more authoritative than the rest. He was dressed in a complete ensemble of a white shirt, black jacket, pinstripe tie, leather shoes, and matching trousers. He sported a thin mustache accompanied by neatly trimmed hair. His bright blue eyes reflected hidden intentions. From his demeanor, he seemed to have some qualifications as a leader.

"What?" Adam inquired.

The military man stared at him intently and said, "I'm William Sambus," then politely gestured to his companion while introducing, "He's John Gates."

He waited for Adam to introduce himself.

Observing their unclear intentions, Adam casually replied, "Adam Lockwood."

William crouched to adjust his position to eye level with Adam. "Are you the owner of The Fool card?" he asked with intimidation.

Adam glanced at William briefly before surveying the surroundings. "They've already started to find out who owns The Fool card," he murmured to himself. Then he responded, "If I were to say no, would you believe me?"

William furrowed his brow. "I don't know, I just need an answer. Are you the owner of The Fool card or not?"

Adam sighed, "I'm not the owner of The Fool card," he answered indifferently.

William turned to look at John before returning his gaze to Adam. "Tell me, what card do you have?"

Adam chuckled, "I'm not foolish enough to tell you. Who's to say whether you or your friend isn't the owner of The Fool card?"

One key to this game is to conceal the identity of one's card as best as possible. The losses incurred by both sides if they were to disclose their card identities are equal.

William sighed.

Behind him, John also averted his gaze and walked towards other players. William and John interviewed all the players, but of course, they didn't get any clues.

Adam glanced at Leon, who was now curled up in a chaotic state of mind, merely counting down the time until the owner of The Fool card would disqualify him.

Considering that the Black Castle was a safe area, after roasting and consuming the pendant rabbit, Adam promptly rested while waiting for the sunset.

...

A mirror separated two different rooms. The side where Adam stood was dark, without light. While the other side was a damp room with a wooden chair under a hanging rope. Several candles illuminated the room.

After a few moments, the sound of the door creaking was heard. Through the door, a tall, blond man entered. His eyes were red as if he had just cried, and his expression still showed despair.

Adam recognized the man. He was Leon, one of the people he met on this island.

Leon walked hesitantly, with heavy movements, and reluctantly climbed onto the chair, his head trembling as he put it through the noose hanging from the rope. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, his lips quivering, and tears falling. He jumped off the chair, his neck still tied to the noose. He immediately made a choking sound and struggled, making the chair he had previously stood on fall.

Within seconds, he stopped moving. The choking sound he made disappeared. His body went limp, showing no signs of life. He hung there swaying back and forth without any wind.

Adam watched silently. The next moment, he was awakened by the noise around him.

He opened his eyes and immediately got up alertly. Some players were engaged in a fight. And none of them stopped.

Adam saw an orange light starting to emerge from the east, signaling the arrival of a new morning. Feeling a bit dizzy from his earlier dream, he quickly calmed himself.