DEADLY GAME SYSTEM

Chapter five: The hidden Chest

The survivors stumbled out of the clearing, their bodies trembling, their clothes scorched and smeared with ash. The glowing doorway faded behind them, sealing the Night of Shadows away.

What greeted them was not another nightmare, but a vast chamber carved of smooth black stone. Strange lights flickered faintly on the walls, pulsing with blue light, almost like veins. The ground was even, the air warmer. At the center lay something completely unexpected—mats, water jugs, and sealed ration packs stacked neatly in a pile.

The system voice chimed in.

[Interlude Chamber – Level One]

Time Allocation: 2 Hours Rest.

Combat Suspended. Recovery Recommended.

For the first time since the game began, there was silence. No snarls in the dark, no dripping blood, no countdown in their ears. Just the faint hum of the chamber.

Some collapsed immediately, gulping down water until their throats burned. Others tore into the ration packs—dense bars that tasted of chalk but felt like heaven after fear and adrenaline.

Marcus sat cross-legged against the wall, still gripping his torch stick as if the predators might reappear any second. Oliver muttered curses between greedy mouthfuls of food.

Ethan dropped onto one of the mats, his body aching everywhere. His arms still stung from holding the torch for hours, his lungs raw. He let himself drink slowly, forcing the water down his dry throat, and leaned his head back.

Two hours. Just two hours.

But as the exhaustion dragged at him, he caught movement across the chamber.

Lena was kneeling near the tattoo girl—the one with the ink curling up her neck half-In the chaos, Ethan hadn’t paid much attention to her, but now, in the eerie blue glow, the tattoo stood out starkly. It wasn’t random—it was intricate, swirling into a pattern that almost pulsed with the chamber’s light.

“Didn’t think I’d run into someone like you here,” Lena said quietly, offering the girl a ration pack.

The girl hesitated, then took it with a nod. “Name’s Kyra.” Her voice was low, husky, carrying something sharp beneath it. “And trust me, I didn’t plan on this either.”

Lena’s eyes flicked to the tattoo. “That mark… what is it? Doesn’t look decorative.”

Kyra chewed slowly before answering. “It’s not. It’s a binding sigil. Got it when I was sixteen. Means I was—” She stopped, lips tightening. “Let’s just say it wasn’t by choice.”

Lena’s expression softened, though she didn’t press. “Whatever it means, you handled yourself back there. Not many kept calm when the shadows hit.”

Kyra gave a humorless chuckle. “Calm is an illusion. You either move, or you die. That’s all there is.”

For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then Lena leaned closer, dropping her voice.

“do you see that guy, Ethan. Did you notice how he kept everyone alive? Without him, we’d be half the number.”

Kyra’s gaze slid across the chamber toward Ethan, who was lying back on his mat,his eyes half-lidded. A faint smirk tugged at her lips. “Didn’t think much of him at first. Doesn’t look like much.”

“Neither do you,” Lena replied dryly.

Kyra actually laughed at that, the sound rough but genuine.

Kyra decided she liked Lena

The two women sat in companionable quiet after that, sharing water and ration crumbs, the beginnings of an alliance forming quietly while the rest of the group either sulked, dozed, or muttered to themselves.

—

Ethan drifted.

Sleep took him quicker than he expected, pulling him down hard, like the weight of the night had finally cracked through his bones.

When his eyes opened again, he was standing. Not on the mat. Not in the chamber. But somewhere else.

The ground beneath him was dark glass, reflecting faint stars that weren’t in the real sky. The air shimmered like heat. Ahead of him floated a single chest—old, iron-bound, glowing faintly with the same blue light that had pulsed through the glyphs on the chamber walls.

His breath caught.

A system dream?

As he approached, a voice—not the cold, mechanical system voice but something older, deeper—echoed inside his skull.

“Player 382. Ethan Cole.”

He froze. “Who… who’s there?”

“You survived the Night of Shadows not by strength, but by mind. The system acknowledges this. The game is not only blood. It rewards those who think.”

The chest before him pulsed.

“Open it.”

Ethan swallowed hard, but stepped forward. His hands trembled as he reached for the lid. The instant his fingers touched the iron, the chest flared with light, the lid creaking open.

Inside—light, pure and searing. Symbols swirled upward, embedding themselves into his skin, vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

The voice intoned:

[Hidden Chest Discovered.]

Reward: +500 Points.

Special Note: Do not reveal this bonus. Hidden points affect rank differently.]

Ethan gasped as warmth surged through him. His system interface flickered briefly across his vision.

Total Points: 2,500.

He stumbled back, but the chest was already dissolving, melting into smoke.

The voice whispered one last time:

“Play your role well, Ethan Cole. The game is watching.”

The world shattered.

—

He woke with a gasp, his heart pounding.

The chamber was still there. Survivors still slept, muttered, or ate quietly. The fire glow of torches had long since died, leaving only the blue lanterns to light the space.

For a long moment, Ethan just lay there, trying to steady his breathing. His system interface still glowed faintly in his mind—2,500 points. A secret bonus. Something no one else would know.

He pressed a hand to his chest, as if the memory of the dream-mark still lingered.

Was it real? A hallucination from exhaustion? Or was there something deeper in this system than just programmed death and points?

Across the chamber, Lena caught his eye briefly before returning to her quiet talk with Kyra. Marcus was finally sleeping. Oliver snored faintly against the wall.

Ethan shut his eyes again. He knew better than to tell anyone. Not Marcus, not Lena, not Oliver.

Especially not Oliver and Marcus

Whatever this hidden chest meant, it was his alone.

And in a game designed to put survivors against each other, secrets might be the only currency more valuable than points.

The system’s cold chime echoed suddenly through the chamber.

[Rest Period Concluded.]

[Prepare for Quest Three.]

Mats dissolved into smoke. The rations vanished, even the taste on their tongues fading. The chamber walls began to hum louder, glyphs brightening as the floor beneath their feet shifted.

The survivors groaned, some still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

Ethan rose to his feet, exhaustion heavy but his mind sharper than ever. He flexed his hands once, quietly, as if he could still feel

the phantom symbols burned into his skin.

500 hidden points. A secret no one else had.

Whatever Quest Three was, he’d be ready.