'There are way more than I thought,' Ray thought as he looked at the players and NPCs gathering in groups.

He was alone, yet no one approached him because of his mysterious aura and the Onyx mask on his face.

Players recognized him, whispering among themselves while also informing the NPCs who were unaware of the situation.

Just then, his eyes landed on two familiar faces: his ex, Fiona, and her current boyfriend, Dustin. Though they didn't recognize him because of his mask, he didn't linger his gaze on them and moved towards the others.

"He looked at us! Did you see that?" Fiona spoke in excitement, especially knowing that the masked man was the mysterious car dealer.

Dustin shrugged. "Maybe because we are different from the rest," he said proudly, looking down on the other people who were not part of their group.

…

Ray turned his eyes from the crowd and looked at the huge black iron door. It wasn't just a simple door; it was a carved story; a brutal history etched in metal.

The carvings were so detailed they seemed to writhe with a life of their own, telling a war that raged on its surface.

In one large section, quick, fanged vampires with long coats fought humans.

The humans, holding only axes and swords, looked completely outmatched. Fear was clear on their faces as the vampires moved with unnatural speed, sinking their fangs into their victims' necks.

Another carving showed a different fight. Here, massive Lycans with thick fur and huge muscles tore through human ranks.

Their claws ripped flesh, and their jaws snapped with bone-crushing force.

The humans looked broken, their weapons shattered and their bodies mangled, as they faced the pure savagery of the beasts.

His eyes then landed on the most striking carving showed the two monster races at war with each other.

Lycans and vampires were locked in a violent clash. A savage Lycan was shown tearing a vampire in half, while a cold-looking vampire stood over the body of a fallen Lycan.

The entire door was a brutal testament to a war between two powerful species, with humanity caught right in the middle. Ray felt a chill as he looked at it, knowing this was a fight he was about to step into.

Ray stood silent, absorbing the stares from the crowd, when hushed whispers began to reach his ears.

He listened, piecing together the bits of information like a puzzle.

"That's him, right? The mysterious car dealer?" a man whispered in his low voice.

A woman next to him scoffed. "Why would he be here? Does he also have a Key of Hellsing?"

"Or maybe he's here to buy one with his money," another voice piped in, a greedy tone to their words.

Ray felt a grin tug at the corner of his lips under his mask. Their confusion and fear were exactly what he wanted. He moved on, letting the conversations wash over him, picking up new threads of thought from the crowd.

"I can't wait for midnight," a player said, bouncing on his feet with impatience. "Finally, a real challenge!"

"Do you think there will be a big crowd?" another replied. "They say only those with a key can enter. How many of them do you think have it?"

A weary-looking NPC nearby spoke with a tired sigh. "Only the chosen can enter. The brave and the foolish. May the gods have mercy on their souls."

The talk shifted back and forth between anticipation and anxiety, with some wondering about the conditions of the trial, and others just looking forward to the challenge.

The whispers confirmed what Ray had suspected, he has to wait for the specific time to enter the mini-game, as for the key? He did have on.

The chatter gave him a good grasp of the situation. He now had a clearer idea of what awaited him once the clock hit midnight.

Just then, another few familiar faces appeared in front of his eyes. They were the ones he had met during a past mini-game, a Team Deathmatch.

'It's James and his two friends,' Ray thought as he saw their group entering. He remembered them well; they were also after the Key of Hellsing.

As soon as they arrived, a fresh wave of whispers and murmurs erupted in the crowd. The focus of the other players and NPCs shifted abruptly from Ray to the newcomers.

For the first time since he arrived, Ray was no longer the center of attention.

The group swept through the crowd, their eyes scanning every face as if they were looking for someone specific.

A tall, confident man at the front of the group turned to a man next to him.

"Seems he's not here again," the man, Jack, said in a low voice.

The man in front looked back at him, his gaze intense. "We already got our hands on another Key," he said, his words sharp with an unspoken threat.

"But we can't let anyone live after they've crossed our paths."

Ray couldn't hear their words, but his eyes were fixed on them, trying to read their expressions and body language.

His gaze lingered on the man at the front, who felt a sudden prickle on the back of his neck.

The man's eyes snapped up, finding Ray's intense stare across the crowd. For a long moment, they held the gaze, a silent challenge passing between them.

Jack turned his head to the man in the lead, his eyes still fixed on Ray. "Sir, that man is the mysterious car dealer I spoke about," Jack said quietly.

"It's better if we can get our hands on the modified arsenal cars he creates, so it's probably best if we don't offend him."

The man in charge let out a dry chuckle. "Offend?" he asked, his voice low and laced with a stern edge. "You think he can offend me?"

Jack's head shook in an instant, a quick, almost fearful motion. "No," he said, the word coming out flat.

He wanted to say that it would be smarter to befriend someone like Ray, but the lead man's cold stare told him to keep his mouth shut.

Ray watched their silent exchange, unable to hear the words, but he could read the tension in their body language. The other man's arrogance was as clear as day.

The man in the lead didn't like Ray glaring at him, but he didn't question it. His purpose for coming here was to send off Jack and his group into the mini-game. He spoke to Jack; his eyes still fixed on Ray's masked face.

"If you want to befriend him and get his creations, then do that," he said, his voice cold and even. "But if he refuses, then kill him."

Jack nodded but asked, "What if he's a player?"

The man chuckled, a chilling sound without any warmth. "Then he won't go forward from here. Either he'll cooperate with us, or he'll die."

A cruel smirk played on his lips. "Once he respawns back to the previous safe zone, we'll make sure he never leaves that place."

Ray couldn't hear them from such a long distance, but he could feel the hostility in their body language.

The man's intense gaze and condescending smirk, combined with the way Jack flinched, were all the information he needed.

Ray knew that nothing good would come from their side.

The man turned away, taking his group to another side of the crowd. Ray's attention returned to the massive iron door.

The time was getting close to midnight, and the air was thick with a nervous and tension building up in the area.

A deep, groaning sound rumbled through the ground, followed by a tremor that shook the very earth beneath their feet for a few seconds.

Then, just like with all the other mini-games, a set of digital words materialized above the gate.

[Hellsing Level 1/3]

With a long, drawn-out creak, the doors slowly opened. Inside, a path stretched into a pulsing, crimson portal, different from the blue portals Ray was used to seeing.

The atmosphere became even more tense when the number 100 materialized beside the words, with an empty slot for a key just below it. It was clear: only 100 people could enter this trial.

[000/100]

Still, Ray was oblivious to a lot of the details about this mini-game. He needed more information, and he decided to get it.

He looked at the man standing next to him and muttered, "100, huh?" in a tone that sounded more like a thought than a question.

The man heard him and, with a proud smirk on his face, replied, "Well, 100 a day isn't bad, but not everyone can get in. Luckily, my group got our hands on it."

"Good for you," Ray answered, his voice flat and dismissive.

The crowd around him began to stir with anticipation. The digital clock above the gate was counting down the final seconds until midnight.

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