World of Elevators

Chapter 7

After everyone was out of sight, Zach who was hiding around the corner, went to the construction building. Zach was fully prepared this time. Bring a backpack with a knife, rope, a large folding bag, and some camping supplies.

Tonight, Zach will be rushing through several floors. He will not stop until he has reached his goal.

Tomorrow, he will return the missing department funds and replace the girl cashier's money. Also, don't forget to get new glasses.

Zach is currently wearing old glasses with a crack in one of the frames. When it comes to glasses, Zach is once again irritated with Bella.

"Whatever! I no longer want to believe in the words of pretty girls!"

Zach kicked a small rock toward the void where the elevator should have appeared minutes ago. However, there has been no evidence of a hologram or anything else.

He checked his watch once more. The elevator was 30 minutes late.

"Did I just dream or fantasize yesterday because I was so frustrated?" Zach was suddenly let down.

Zach doesn't know what to do if the world of elevators was just a figment of his imagination. He has promised to pay off all debts.

'Bzzzt.'

Zach is confronted by an elevator hologram. He shouted joyfully, "It's real!"

Zach felt tingling all over his body after entering the elevator. Every pore emitted a fine blue mist.

"What exactly is this?"

The blue mist quickly congregated. Then it glows while forming the Sirhaan wolf's curve.

"Ooh!" Zach's eyes and mouth widened.

The wolf is in perfect shape now. She ran around Zach's feet, waving her tail.

"I'm glad to see you again." Zach stroked the wolf's fur. "I will undoubtedly name you today."

Zach's attention was drawn back to the monitor screen, which read, "Welcome, Player 101!"

After checking the elevator schedule, it was discovered that Zach had made a mistake. The elevator was late because Zach typed the wrong time.

[Select the floor to which you wish to proceed.]

Zach paused for a moment to think. He is in desperate need of funds. But he was more interested in what was on the floor below.

"Do I start downstairs?" Zach rubbed the back of his neck.

The wolf howled in agreement with his words. Zach looked at his pet.

"You want to fight, hmm? It appears that the -1 floor is not too difficult for you."

***

The woman with golden copper hair walked up the stairs. Her white gown's tail swept the red carpet.

The players on the first floor, who were mostly men, struggled to swallow their saliva. Because the woman was only dressed in a transparent dress that revealed her curves.

They would have been drooling from the moment she appeared if her hair hadn't covered down to her waist. The men, including Zach, were waiting for the woman to turn around. But she walked slowly, and the stairs were quite high.

The men sighed in disappointment when the woman turned and sat on the throne. The woman's body was now covered in thick copper fur. Leaving a very charming face.

That woman is, indeed, a werewolf.

"Welcome to the first floor! I am Queen Serena Raff, and I will be your guide on this floor."

Serena Raff's gray eyes were locked on Zach. Serena was annoyed to see the wolf at Zach's feet she mistook it for a regular dog.

'It reminds me of the Sirhaan Clan, the blue-eyed wolves from children's legends,' Serena thought.

"I won't go on and on like those chatty administrators upstairs. You can immediately use whatever means you want to finish off 100 wild wolves or 10 alpha wolves. You can also mix and match the two. As long as the total number of gemstones you have is 100."

"For each wolf you kill, you will receive one yellow gemstone. For the alpha wolves, you will receive one silver gemstone, which is equivalent to ten yellow gemstones. Give me the gemstones once the conditions are met."

A well-built man, perhaps a bodybuilder, raised his hand. "This place has 83 players, according to my count, Queen. That means we must all slaughter 8,300 wolves. Are there enough wolves on this floor to accommodate all of the players?"

"Good question, Player 76! There are more than enough wild wolves for all players. However, you are permitted to plunder other players' gemstones."

"Do you mean we can fight other players?" inquired the man.

"That is correct. After killing another player, all of his gemstones will be yours. You won't be able to take them by force if you don't kill them."

Zach's heart appeared to stop beating. Several players cast glances at him.

That's right, only Zach appeared frail on this floor. They don't appear to be scared of the pets Zach brings.

"Okay, I'm not going to answer any more questions. The mission will begin once the countdown has finished."

The ground rumble made everyone flinch. The floor of the queen's throne rose. Until no one can see the figure of a lovely furry lady.

[5...4...3...2...1...]

[Game on!]

Everyone rushed into the dark forest. To avoid the crowds, Zach and his wolf were the last to leave.

Zach's first move is to look for a place to hide. Either from the alpha wolf or from other players.

However, in the wilderness, there are only small pine trees. There is no visible cave or niche in the ground.

Zach inspected the floor plan after opening the menu. This floor is four times the size of the first.

Wild wolf packs are indicated by red dots on the map. Zach dashed to the nearest red dot from his position.

A male bodybuilder is using a long sword to finish off a group of wolves. The man appeared to have no difficulty killing the pack of wild wolves.

Unlike on the top floor, players can freely purchase items from the shop while playing the game. Unfortunately, swords like the bodybuilder guy's were prohibitively expensive. Zach couldn't afford the cheapest option.

"Seventy thousand gold coins! Crazy! First place on the first floor isn't worth much!" Zach yelled.

"You should have gathered a lot of gold coins upstairs before you came here." The male bodybuilder said.

Zach backed up, tripping over his own feet. He collapsed to the ground and winced in pain.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you." A hand is extended by a male bodybuilder. "Ray."

Zach took the man's hand, which had the power to make him stand up in just one pull.

"Zach."

"Zach, your pet is quite handsome. How much is it?"

Sirhaan wolf growled.

"She is a female. I just happened to get her from a secret mission." Zach replied.

"Oh, sorry," Ray apologized to the wolf.

"Would you like to go prowling with me?" Ray offered.

"I'd like to. But I'm a new player with no weapons."

'Isn't there anything wrong with working with people? Ray appears to be a nice guy,' Zach thought.

"You have her." Ray's gaze was drawn to Zach's wolf.

"I only recently discovered the world of elevators."

"Really? Most new players prefer to ascend to at least the 50th floor before venturing down to the lower floors. There aren't many people going down. Everyone would rather have money."

"How long have you been playing here?"

"Last year, I entered the world of elevators. What is your elevator number, Zach?"

"101."

"You are thus a second-generation player. It's no surprise that there are so many players on this floor."

Zach squinted. Something is not right.

'Ray arrived last year, but is he still on the -1 floor?'

"Zach, I know what you're thinking!" Ray grinned.

"This year, I ascended to the seventieth floor. I gathered a large number of gold coins to purchase the equipment I am currently using. I sometimes repeat on floors with plenty of gold coins."

"You must be extremely wealthy."

"That's right! Since I entered the world of elevators, I've been able to buy my mother a house and a nice car! I'm addicted to going up floors."

"Have you ever tried the -1 floor?"

"Once. To be more specific, I began in the world of elevators. And at that point, I was attacked by a wolf and died." Ray recalled, laughing loudly.

The man's laughter drew a pack of wolves closer. A dozen or so wolves surrounded the two of them.

Zach and Ray naturally squeezed together. Then, place the body back to back.

"Watch out for the silver-eyed wolf, Zach."

Zach saw the wolf Ray was referring to. The silver-eyed wolf's body size was different from other wolves.

"That's the alpha wolf! He's as powerful as fifteen wolves or maybe more. That's the kind of wolf who killed me before!"

The alpha wolf let out a long howl. Dozens of other wolves joined them.

"Shit, there are too many of them," Ray grumbled.

"What should we do?" Zach trembled.

His wolf is smaller than the wild wolves. Zach knelt and hugged his wolf.

"We should leave right now," Ray said quietly.

Late!

After the alpha wolves' howling subsided, the entire wild wolves galloped toward the two men in the middle of the pack.