[You have entered the 'Apex Survival']
"Then he found himself spawning in the same spot where he logged off. Experiencing a familiar feeling.
Ray looked at number of people. There was many rushing in and out of the safe zone; many were there to challenge the first mini-game.
'I should find the nearest mini-game.'
Ray opened his map, which showed many red circles with a level mentioned above them. That was the indication about the danger of the game, which meant to only challenge the mini-game if you are of the mentioned level."
The game didn't stop anyone from participating in higher-level mini-games, but it came with risks.
"The developers must be crazy for doing that." Then his eyes landed on only two marks that looked like handshakes.
'These must be group challenges.' There were only two marks on the map. One was in his current location, and another was far to the east, with level 7 showing above it.
Then, moving to the closest one, he saw it was a circus, closest to his location, with level 3 mentioned above it. Without wasting his time, he exited the safe zone and started heading to the circus, towards his first solo mini-game.
Just like before, the streets were clear of any mutated beasts and zombies, and by the time he reached the circus, it was already dark outside.
There he saw people rushing to join the queue, just like one would when entering a circus.
It was a grand place with an old, early 20s circus theme. There were four queues in total, and every queue was long with a bare minimum of 200 people in each line.
The game had a single beginner's area, which was the whole ruined city, so every player who was playing from any corner of the world would end up in a single place, which was the cause of such a rush in every low-level mini-game.
[Welcome to the Whimsy Wobblepant's mini-game]
[Condition: Solo (Lvl 3)]
'Whimsy Wobblepant, sounds like some joker's name.' He joined the queue in the front, looking at the transparent portal.
He could look inside, but once a player entered it, they vanished and couldn't be seen from outside.
He moved forward, and even with such a rush, he came closer to the entrance within half an hour. Ray was surprised to see that, even with such numbers, there wasn't a single person trying to break the queue which led his curiosity to ask the person ahead of him.
It was a man, looking in his early 30s. Once he heard Ray's question, he answered, "You must have come directly here without reading about this mini-game in the forum?"
Ray nodded; he indeed hadn't even thought about looking at the forum before attempting.
The man introduced himself as Arman. "This place will reject entry to anyone who tries to break the queue; its rules are just like real-life amusement parks. If you want to enter, you have to follow the rules."
Then came Arman's turn. He stepped forward from the queue, a green light shone on him, and then he was allowed to enter the portal.
After him, Ray went through the same thing and entered the portal.
[You have entered Whimsy Wobblepant's circus]
Ray found himself in a dimly lit makeup room, and then someone tapped him from behind, scaring the shit out of him.
There stood a joker. It had a small, thin body with a bloated suit, a painted face, and a smile which was scary as hell.
"You have come, the new guy." With a spooky but funny tone, the joker called Ray, then began pulling him.
"You have come at the right time; our business is suffering because those guys rebelled. Can you help me clear the area so our show can go without any obstructions?"
[You have received your task from Whimsy Wobblepant, the joker]
[Help him clear the obstacles before time runs out]
[Failure means death]
Ray read the notification, then looked at the joker, who was smiling at him while pulling him for the task.
'From the look of the task, this feels similar to the first task but why is it so spooky?' He didn't had this feeling when he was fighting with bunch of skeletons but now just standing here had gripped his heart with strange feeling.
The joker took him inside the bigger tent. From outside it was just a big tent, but inside it was a whole different space. There he was alone while the joker called out from the outside in a scary tone, "H...help me before the time runs out."
Saying this, he vanished, leaving him alone in an empty tent. 'This emptiness was making things creepier. What can be scarier than that joker's smile?'
The completion of the task was a must, and failure meant death, but he had a hunch that the one who would kill him would be the joker if the task wasn't completed.
[Task: Find the intruder]
[Time limit: One hour]