Chapter 11

    Peek-A-Boo!!! Com On Bebe

    In an expansive space surrounded by countless stars, where the end was the beginning, was the universe itself... Amidst this vastness, 11 conference chairs appeared, each occupied by a figure shrouded in cloaks and masks to hide their identities. Surprisingly, their voices sounded identical, raising suspicions. However, listening closely, it was clear they were discussing the state of the online game world of "Dream Come True." Who are these individuals…?

    "Everyone here is aware of the issue at hand," began the person at the head of the table, introducing the meeting's agenda.

    "..." Everyone nodded in agreement.

    "This meeting will discuss our next steps once the auction ends... A financial shortfall in Dream Come True game world is inevitable..." expressed the man to the left of the head, with evident concern.

    "Do you genuinely believe what you're saying, bank representative? Or are you concerned about your profits from this auction, which are not insignificant?" challenged a voice from the end of the table.

    "I agree with the game store corporate representative... You probably don't care as much since you profit five percent from auctioned item sales... It's my side that will suffer the most," countered another voice from the right side of the table.

    "..."

    "Wait, dark world representative. We're all in trouble here... We've gathered to plan for after the auction ends," the head of the table interjected.

    "It's unbelievable... The 12 mighty representatives of Dream Come True coming to such terms. It seems we've never convened like this before... May I express my thoughts on this, chairperson?" asked someone next to the bank representative.

    "The floor is yours, game merchant representative," the chairperson acknowledged.

    "Is this because of the legendary boxes... If more could be added, announcing it might reduce the auction's cash flow..." the merchant proposed.

    "If that were possible, I would've done it long ago. There are only four legendary boxes and a legendary belt as event rewards. The creator himself has stated this; it's beyond our control."

    "Why were the legendary boxes discovered then? If multiple people had won, I could understand, but why just one? Is there an ulterior motive?" inquired another from the table.

    "Absolutely not. Even the GMs and administrators are clueless. Only the creator oversees these items. Don't worry about unfair advantages for anyone, knight representative."

    "If we could negotiate with the owner of the legendary boxes for auction, hoping the bank could provide information... For the benefit of Real Dream, would the bank refuse?" asked another representative.

    "...Absolutely not!!~~ We refuse!!~~" the bank firmly responded.

    "Is it for the game's benefit or yours, press association representative?" another near the press association queried.

    "Or maybe you don't want to know, investment representative. I bet you're dying to find out... Heh!!" taunted the merchant representative.

    "You…!"

    "…Stop!!~"

    "This meeting was convened to address and resolve issues, not for squabbling. As you all know, we cannot disclose customer information from the bank," the chairperson declared.

    "...If we want financial circulation again, we'll need to find an investment to pull money from that person's pocket," said the game merchant representative.

    "...Agreed..." All parties concurred and continued to discuss the matter...

    …

    /Player Warrior is calling in. Would you like to accept the call?/

    "Mmm, accept."

    /Good morning, Pun. Did I interrupt your sleep?/

    /Interrupted, yawn... What's up with calling so early in the morning...?/

    /Er... If it's an inconvenience, I apologize and will contact you again later./

    /Yeah, yeah, hurry up... I want to sleep... mumbling.../

    /Okay, okay, good night then. But don't oversleep and miss the event. It's already 8 AM./

    Before Pun could fall back asleep, he was startled by the mention of "event!!" and "8 AM."

    "Yikes, I'm doomed... It's already 8 AM. Damn, I overslept... What to do?" Pun panicked, realizing it was his fault for waking up late and nobody else's to blame. So, he started thinking of a solution while getting dressed...

    "Right, I need to escape!! But how?" Indeed, how could he escape from the number one guild, especially when it had millions of members...

    Press the red button when in doubt!!!!~

    "What can I do for you, sir? Would you like to have breakfast now?"

    A miracle happened...

    "Zzz!!!~~"

    The sound of the Dream Come True game bus driving towards the western gate, taking an ostrich towards the border between the Dark Forest (as it's commonly known) and the city area. Pun was truly thankful to the staff. When he explained that someone was following him and he needed to escape, the staff found a way for him and even had several plans. Perhaps escape attempts were common... Regardless, he managed to escape. The plan seemed too easy; he just changed into the Blood Hunter outfit, put on a cap slightly over his face, and took the elevator down. Initially, he was almost frantic until the staff suggested that wearing the starter outfit was too conspicuous. Wearing something different would make him look more like a regular hotel guest. Did he really stand out that much? He realized only then... Pun looked out onto the street, nearly reaching the city gate. What time was it now? 9:00 AM. The event was probably starting... Well, that's good... He thought before sitting with his cap covering his face again.

    "How's the task I assigned going?" asked a man known as the Light Deitie.

    "Sir, we've been monitoring the player in question. They haven't appeared from the elevator yet," reported the subordinate, bowing while reporting. Yet, he couldn't help wondering why the number one person was interested in someone wearing a starter outfit. There must be a reason...

    "Good, continue your work," thought First, maybe he contacted too early, letting the sleeper remain undisturbed. It was better to keep an eye on them for a while...

    ...

    "Thi, Tak, Wat, have you seen that person?" asked Gina.

    "Nope... The event is about to start... We're in the same hotel, how come we haven't seen them?"

    "Let it go... Oh, Gino, any luck?"

    Gino shook her head in response, but something bothered her. It couldn't be, could it? He was wearing a starter outfit, and why would he take such a shabby bus...

    ...

    "Why do you think the big guilds, or the rich guys are fighting over legendary items? Sure, there's only one piece, but why the fierce competition?" a man in ordinary leather attire spoke to his friend in a diner.

    "You don't know about this? It was a rumor when the game first launched," replied the friend sitting across, taking another sip of his noodle soup before continuing.

    "Do you know about the Dark Forest?" he asked.

    "Of course, don't forget we ventured there last month, only after coming back from death and running into a tiger as big as a horse. Damn it... I was only level 20, man..." Tam replied, frustrated by the memory he wished to forget.

    "Is that all you know?" his friend with the noodle soup hinted intriguingly.

    "What else is there? Come on, Am, spill it. Don't keep secrets," Tam demanded, growing impatient with his friend's teasing.

    "Heh, okay, calm down. I'll tell you now. Do you know why they call it the Dark Forest?" Am turned to his friend, prompting a question but only received a head shake and a frown in response.

    "The Dark Forest is the most dangerous and ferocious forest. It covers a vast territory. Hmm... in the world of the Dream Come True game, it is divided into three main parts, with water only making up one part and the other two parts being land. This land, if we speak of forests, the Dark Forest spans a wide area in the middle of the continent. As you can see, every continent is somehow connected by the Dark Forest," Am turned slightly to see if his friend was keeping up. Seeing that he was, he continued.

    "Since the Dark Forest is a realm of danger, that very danger turns it into a significant treasure trove. Whoever ventures deepest into the Dark Forest gains the most benefit. And the Dark Forest, so perilous, won't easily let anyone tread upon it, heh heh!!~ You probably don't know that the big guilds have tried to challenge this forest before, but no one has penetrated more than5 km at best. The furthest someone has reportedly gone is only 20 km.

    Thus, they need to find good weapons and treasures to attack the Dark Forest. Sigh!!~ But I'm not sure... I have a feeling that someone will break the curse of the Dark Forest. Who will be the one to open the forest, and what will they do with it?" Am thought while sighing. He loved this forest dearly. Although it was scary and savage, it was honest. It never spared anyone. Who would be the one to open the forest? If it's true, he would give that person a deep bow, really...

    Not far from the dining table of Tam and Am, someone overheard their conversation carried by the wind. Pun was more than glad to have gained knowledge about the forest from that person. However, Pun didn't dare to make himself too noticeable, fearing being accused of eavesdropping. But... he really just heard it, not eavesdropping intentionally. The reason Pun was still in the city was that 1. He was hungry. 2. Leaving the city meant heading straight to the forest. 3. He had to wait for the turkey vulture vehicle to arrive, which would take about 10 - 20 minutes, forcing Pun to dine in the restaurant closest to the city gate, ready to flee on a moment's notice...

    ...

    At an open space in the public square,

    "Hello!!~~~~ Everyone, are you ready to join the Peek-a-boo!~ Come On Baby event?!!!!"

    A clear voice emanated from the high stage. The speaker was a young woman dressed as a female warrior, brimming with energy and vitality, drawing the gaze of many men to the point of overwhelming attention. Even the women next to these men felt jealous, but they, too, were eyeing the handsome men beside them. Why wouldn't they? Tall, fair, bespectacled men looked serious and focused.

    "HEY!!!~~~ Ready, Miss Reena, very much!!!~~" The men's voices echoed back, along with the slight hammers of the women.

    "Reena, stop messing around. It's already 9:05 AM. The event was supposed to start at 9:00 AM," a deep, calm voice admonished the person next to him, eliciting many screams from the women below.

    "Scream!!!~~~" "Scold me, please!!~~~ I'd be happy for you to scold me for the rest of my life!!~" "Screammm... So cool!!!~~~"

    The voices of the women were so loud that they likely surpassed the men's voices from earlier.

    "Everyone, please, in peace... Excellent, the two of us will begin the event now!" Thanwa's voice raised, making many women want to scream out loud but had to cover their mouths, fearing the handsome young man would disapprove.

    "Reena will explain the rules to you!"

    "Yes, Miss Reena, please proceed."

    "Ahem!!~" Thanwa had to interrupt,

    "Well then, the Peek-a-boo!~ Come On Baby event, many of you might be wondering what it is. This game will be a game of peek-a-boo, everyone. Quiet, please." When the players all whispered to each other upon hearing the event was a game of peek-a-boo, causing the event to nearly collapse before it even started, Thanwa had to make the announcement himself.

    "Listen!!~ This game will have one lucky player receiving the ? symbol on their forehead. If any player finds someone with the ? on their forehead, they must kill the person with the ? immediately. You all have until 6 PM only, and if the person with the symbol is not found, the player who received this symbol will instead receive a reward. Now, there has been a change in the rewards, from 500 orbs and a Legendary Belt of Rights, to 1,000 orbs and one Legendary Belt of Rights. I believe everyone will be... very interested indeed."

    "Wow!~~~" The voices of each person thundered across the city, everyone dreamily making gestures. Those in groups clung tightly together. Looking closely, one could see a clear territorial division. The guild with a golden dragon symbol was on the right side of the stage, centered around a young man in golden armor, dense with members. The guild with a red hue must be the Redwood Guild, located next to the golden guild. The black guild was on the left side of the stage, and the blue guild was further from the red guild. These four corners alone accounted for thousands of players, with the center holding the most. Unaffiliated players or members of smaller guilds eagerly awaited the start of this event.

    "We will randomly select who will receive this symbol. Let me remind you, the person who gets the symbol will be in this city only... and those interested in this competition, please step outside the building; otherwise, you won't be able to participate in the event... Once the random selection is done, I hope you find them before the player escapes the city, with kind regards from the lovely and charming Reena, mwah... mwah." Then, the female presenter blew kisses all around, seemingly frivolous, but it significantly lightened the mood.

    "5...4...3...2...1...Randomize!!~~~"

    A blue magical circle enveloped every part of the starting city, forming a large blue dome.

After finishing his meal, Pun immediately reached the Ostrich service point. As he was about to mount it, suddenly, a blue light appeared throughout the starting city territory... Feeling a tingling sensation across his face, especially on his forehead, before he knew it, Pun had mounted the Ostrich. Once the turkey vulture sensed its rider, it hastily soared out of the city gate...