Chapter 1

Beep—

A piercing, mechanical voice drilled into my brain like an awl.

[Welcome to the Hide and Seek game. Current location: The Dark Castle.]

[All participants are in position. Players, please note: Once the game begins, you will have thirty minutes to hide.]

[After thirty minutes, the monsters will enter to hunt. The hunt is two hours.]

[Those who are caught will die.]

[And their territories will be overrun by monsters.]

[Survivors will receive rewards.]

[The countdown begins now.]

The emotionless broadcast echoed in the air.

A blinding white light flashed.

I crashed heavily onto the cold, hard ground. The rusty iron chains on my wrists and ankles clanked dully.

The air didn't smell of moldy hay or rotting moss. It smelled of dust and the sweet, metallic tang of dried blood.

I opened my eyes.

Before me stood a ruined ancient castle. Moonlight streamed down through cracks in the collapsed dome.

Before I could adjust to the sudden light, lines of glowing blue text popped up in mid-air. They scrolled past my eyes like a swarm of annoying flies.

[What the hell? This is our clan’s representative?]

[A girl a strong breeze could knock over? Is she even an adult?]

[I bet she bursts into tears the second she sees a monster.]

[It’s over. We’re so dead. I knew we’d lose this time. Are the werewolves really going to be wiped out...]

The desperate words almost completely blocked my vision.

I ignored the flashing chat and pushed myself off the ground, slowly standing up.

My bare feet met the rough stone, sending a sharp sting up my legs.

It wasn't a hallucination.

I had really left that pitch-black dungeon.

Fifteen years.

When I was seven, I smashed the skull of a noble werewolf who constantly beat me. For that, I was chained in the depths of a dripping cell.

For fifteen whole years, my only entertainment was listening to rats gnaw on bones.

I turned my head, my eyes landing on a half-shattered mirror in the corner.

Dragging my shackles, I strode over, the chains scraping against the stone with a teeth-grinding clatter.

The mirror reflected a ghostly figure.

Skin so pale it was nearly translucent, hair matted like weeds, and a tattered prisoner's uniform faded to an unrecognizable color.

I reached out and touched the bloodless face in the mirror.

"Hah..."

A barely audible chuckle slipped from my throat.

The chat scrolled even faster.

[What is she doing? The monsters are about to come out. Why isn't she hiding?]

[Is she scared stupid? I think I see her shaking.]

[Poor kid, she must be crying. This 'trial' is just a slaughter!]

[Somebody save her... and save us...]

Crying?

I slowly crouched down, my shoulders heaving violently as my chest shook.

"Haha..."

I couldn't hold the laughter back anymore. It poured from my lips.

I threw my head back, simply lying down on the dusty stone floor, spreading my arms wide and laughing out loud.

"Hahahahaha!"

My laughter echoed, edged with a wild madness.

This wasn't some desperate slaughterhouse.

This was my playground!

An endless hunting ground where I didn't have to be chained to a wall!

Death?

Every second in that dungeon was just waiting to die. Here, I smelled freedom.

The wolf blood in my veins was boiling. My beastly instincts told me this place was crawling with danger.

But danger meant fun.

[She’s crazy... She’s absolutely insane...]

A stream of ellipses drifted across the chat, followed by a fresh wave of wailing.

I sat up abruptly and dusted off my hands.

In the top right corner of my vision, a blood-red countdown was ticking.

Twenty-five minutes until the monsters were released.

I stood up. I didn't look for a hidden corner as the rules suggested, nor did I search for weapons.

Dragging my shackles, I strolled leisurely into the depths of the castle.