Elisa Margan. In her previous life, she should have become a private detective after being kicked out of the police force.
She lived by one motto,
Justice above all else.
Even after being dismissed, she never gave up on erasing crime from this deceitful world.
Maybe it was because she had spent so long witnessing crime every day that she could tell who was good and who was bad just by looking at their face.
One night, while staying up late to work on a missing person case, her phone rang.
Too tired to check the number, she answered without a second thought.
Her head suddenly felt heavy, her vision blurred, and everything went black.
When she woke up, the first thing she saw was a giant sphere. Then, chaos erupted.
She was called a Climber. A strange screen appeared out of nowhere, and killings began to happen.
A man named Hanston appeared, offering hope. He told them they must survive without obeying the orders of the giant sphere.
But Elisa knew Hanston had other intentions.
At first, she pretended to go along with him while trying to find out what was really going on. That was when she met Oskar, a strange man.
She could not read his intentions, but she was certain he was not evil. Oskar told her to gather information from the camp Hanston had set up.
The first few days seemed normal.
Everyone helped each other, and Hanston treated everyone kindly. Small houses made from branches were built, and water supplies were collected.
Food was not a problem either, as the surrounding forest was full of game.
But over time, only a few people were allowed to go hunting.
Those chosen were handpicked by Hanston.
Elisa found it strange when healthy, capable people were suddenly banned from hunting.
With no proof, she started asking around the camp.
The first person she approached was an elderly woman, around fifty years old.
"Hello, good morning," Elisa greeted warmly. The woman was busy making rope for the hunters.
"Good morning," the woman replied, tying strips of bark together into rope. She look like in her eighties.
"The hunting team has fewer people now, right? Wouldn't it be better if there were more?" Elisa asked.
"Oh, that. They said we need more people to work on the shelters."
"But it's odd. Eric, the young man who always brought back plenty of game, was suddenly removed from the hunting team," the woman added, making Elisa even more suspicious.
"But it's good that we have someone like Hanston. We humans should live together, not kill each other," the woman advised. Elisa remained silent.
After helping the woman, Elisa searched for Eric. But strangely, he was nowhere to be found.
"Where did he go?"
At the start of the game, there had been about three hundred people in the camp. Now, that number had dropped noticeably.
"Why are there fewer and fewer of us?" Elisa wondered.
While searching, Elisa noticed she was being followed. Several people were watching her with suspicious eyes.
She quickly ran into the forest.
Some chased after her, but once they entered the forest, her tracks vanished.
Hiding behind a tree, she observed them from a distance. All of her pursuers were Hanston's subordinates.
They were holding red cards.
"I think I finally understand why I had a bad feeling. He's secretly gathering allies to fight the blue team. So much for not killing anyone," Elisa muttered.
She had to find Oskar and tell him. If Hanston was really building power to wipe out the blue team, they would all be doomed.
But before she could move, a heavy blow struck her head. Everything went dark. She could faintly feel herself being dragged deeper into the forest.