Hikari: Rise Of The Weapons Master

"Now, the last round is the simplest round ever. All of you just have to stay in a position and hold on for as long as you," Johnny announced after the elimination was over. "You have five seconds to choose a pose."

Zack immediately grabbed Emma's hand and used swift lightning to travel to the chairs. Both of them sat down on the chair before Johnny's given time was over.

However, they soon realized that they were holding each other's hands.

"Now, hold this position for as long as you can." Johnny suddenly vanished from his spot and left behind a thousand still players.

No one took the staying still thing as a joke and tried their best to stand still. However, players soon realized that they were getting tired while standing.

'So this event was actually a testing for the news updates.' Zack realized that all three of the rounds the players had gone through were to check the new system.

The first round, the honeycomb maze, was used to check how further the realistic hearing and vision had progressed.

The second round was to check the sprinting and contact feature. If Zack had to guess, he would say that the game developers had just been looking for bugs instead of improving the system.

As for the current system, it was clear that it was focused on hunger, thirst, and stamina features.

Many players could feel their throats getting parched and there was nothing they could do to satisfy their thirst.

The same was true for their hunger. Some players had taken a food pill before entering the game but due to the length of the event, they had started getting hungry.

Though many people didn't like the aspect of the game, Zack had to admit that it made Hikari look even more real.

'If it isn't a real-world already.'

Finally, a player decided to give up as he moved from his place. However, nothing happened.

"Huh?" Many players looked confused as they too started moving to test whether the theory was correct.

However, more than 200 players, including Zack and Emma, remained still.

[ Do you think that we should risk moving? ] Emma asked calmly while looking at the players who had started moving and eating food stored in their inventory.

[ For all we know, Johnny was just scaring us with a fake round. However, there is always a chance that he would come and surprise us. ]

An hour later, only a hundred or so players remained on their spots as the rest of them had given in to the temptation of moving and eating.

The stuff they had eaten was mostly stored in their inventories and those who didn't have anything to eat had traded stuff with their fellow players.

"How long are you guys going to stay still?" A familiar voice spoke up from the crowd as Ninja stepped out from the crowd.

A few players nodded alongside him as to say that they agreed with him.

"Staying still isn't going to do anything guys…" Suddenly, his gaze landed on Zack and Emma. "Unless you are enjoying it."

Now, hundred or so players were looking at the duo who glared back at them.

[ Ever felt like hitting the idiots in the face? Cause I am very tempted to do it. ]

[ Well, Johnny will do that for us. ]

Suddenly, black pillars of light descended on all the players who had moved from their place.

"Now, I thought I said that you weren't supposed to move from your place." Johnny's voice echoed around the place but he didn't appear in front of the players. "I guess all of you will be eliminated."

All the players having the black pillars of light around them vanished.

"The remaining players can freely move now."

Emma and Zack then stood up with a sigh before the former retracted her hand.

[ How did you know that he would appear at that very moment? ]

[ He texted me. ]

Emma looked as though Zack had just told her that Earth was flat.

[ I am not kidding. He literally texted me saying that "it will all be over in a minute" before that happened. ]

[ I think Johnny is gay. ]

[ Maybe. ]

After their exchange, Zack and Emma looked around as their gaze suddenly caught the look of a blond girl.

A smile appeared on the duo's faces as they saw five men surrounding Lisa. She was smiling and talking to them though she had noticed the duo.

This was a good example to showcase that strength doesn't help a person succeed.

"Now, ninety-six of you remain here. I have just gotten a word from the higher-ups that the number of winners has been increased to ten so now, we will play a game called green light and red light."

As soon as Johnny's voice appeared, all the players were teleported out of the waiting room and into the same open field where the second round had been conducted.

But this time, all of them were frozen on specific spaces with a white line drawn directly across their feet.

Johnny was standing three hundred meters away from them with a white line in front of him too.

"In red light, green light, players have to cross from one side to the other when green light is said. I will turn around after saying green light and you can move freely then. However, the moment I turn back to look at you, you will have to stop.

Those who don't stop will be eliminated. You can move using any skill you want and only the first ten to reach the finish line will get the prize. The game starts in five minutes so all of you can warm up."

After Johnny finished his explanation, all the players unfroze. However, they were covered by a sort of psychic field that prevented them from going to meet another player.

"You can do whatever you want once the game starts however, you can't sabotage anyone beforehand," Johnny called out as all the players looked straight ahead.

Due to the previous round, they now had some idea how they could stay still on their spots.

So when the round began, all of them were ready to win.