The girl's number was 10...
Sitting to Caleb's right was a young man with a bright smile. He grinned at Caleb and said, "Hey, buddy, looking forward to working with you!"
Caleb returned a friendly smile, "Likewise."
While the two spoke, all the players present took their seats.
Seeing this, the faint blue virtual projection slowly began to speak:
<..The name of this game is 'Werewolf'. There are twelve players present in total, among whom are two werewolves and ten ordinary people.
A werewolf can only eliminate one person per day. The method of elimination is through Pokémon battles. The loser will 'die' and be eliminated. If an ordinary person manages to kill a werewolf during the battle, they can become the new werewolf..>
<..There is no time limit for werewolves to kill. The 'body' of an eliminated player will remain in place. If discovered, ordinary people can sound the alarm, summoning all players for a public vote.
Note: There is only one public vote opportunity per day.
During the public vote, each player will speak in order of their number, and each player has one vote. The player with the most votes will be eliminated..>
<..Ordinary people's victory condition: Find the werewolves hidden among the players within seven days and eliminate them.
Werewolf victory condition: Eliminate all ordinary people, or remain undiscovered after seven days..>
<..Note: The electrical equipment in this castle has been damaged. Ordinary people can repair it during the daytime. Additionally, werewolves are free to sabotage it.
- Current number of unrepaired electrical switches: 4..>
After speaking, the virtual projection fell silent.
Next was the players' free activity time.
Caleb glanced at the three werewolf-exclusive abilities he had just obtained:
- Night Vision: Allows you to ignore darkness and see the surrounding environment clearly even at night...
- Duel: After selecting a target, you may forcibly pull them into a battle space. Anything that happens in the battle space will not be perceived by the outside world. Usage limit: 1...
- Map: A map of the interior of the castle...
At that moment, the young man sitting beside Caleb glanced around at the group, holding up his badge labeled number 8 card. He spoke up with a friendly suggestion, "How about we all introduce ourselves? I'll start. My name is Alessio, and my Pokémon is a Breloom."
As he spoke, he took out a Poké Ball from his inventory. With a flash of white light, a green Pokémon with a mushroom on its head appeared before everyone.
Caleb used Scout to take a look:
[Breloom: Lv. 100]
...
The other players reacted one after another...
Player No. 1 was the old man from the bus earlier. His Pokémon was a Lv. 100 Ninetales.
Player No. 2 was the male college student named Dmitri. His Pokémon was a Lv. 22 Gloom.
Player No. 3 was also a newcomer. She had already given her name as Chiara. Her Pokémon was a Lv. 28 Marowak.
No. 4 was the muscular man. His Pokémon was a Lv. 100 Sandslash.
...
Soon, it was Caleb's turn in this introduction session.
For a moment, all the players' eyes focused on him.
Caleb paused briefly while taking out Mimikyu. He then used the new ability of his Viridian Power, Enhanced Perception, to communicate with Mimikyu.
Two seconds later, a flash of white light appeared, and a relatively small, thin Caterpie materialized before everyone.
The players present were all stunned, rooted to the spot. It took them a good while to remember to use Scout on the Caterpie.
However, it would have been better if they hadn't seen it. After seeing the Caterpie's level, the expressions on everyone's faces became somewhat peculiar. After all, it was a Lv. 5 Caterpie...
No. 8, who had proposed this introduction session, couldn't help but exclaim, "Bro, what's your situation?!"
Caleb said with a bitter smile, "I don't know either. Who would have thought this Instance would be a Werewolf game? This is only my second Pokémon."
No. 2 looked over and asked curiously, "Are you a new player too?"
Caleb glanced at him and then began his performance, "This is my second Instance, so I guess I still count as a newbie, right?"
"Indeed." No. 8's look towards Caleb clearly began to change.
However, the pretty girl sitting in seat No. 10 looked deeply at Caleb, a slight curve forming at the corner of her lips.
'How interesting,' she thought.
The introductions continued, and next it was No. 10's turn.
Caleb also turned to look at her...
The girl took out a Poké Ball as she said, "My name is Clara."
As soon as she finished speaking, with a flash of white light, a humanoid Pokémon covered in black and gray fur, with a tuft of crimson red mane on its head, appeared before everyone.
"Zoroark." No. 2's (Dmitri) eyes lit up instantly. He stood up excitedly and asked, "Can I pet it?"
Clara smiled at him and said, "Sorry, this guy doesn't like contact with strangers."
"Oh, I see..." Dmitri could only sit back down regretfully.
…
By the time everyone finished their introductions, the sky outside had also darkened...
The entire castle was instantly shrouded in shadow.
The excitement the three new players felt from entering the Pokémon world finally cooled down upon seeing this.
Dmitri got up from his chair and tried to turn on the lights, but no matter how he tried, the chandelier above the hall wouldn't light up.
Chiara pointed at the now-silent virtual projection on the long table and said, "Didn't this thing just say the castle's electrical equipment is damaged?"
"But we don't know where the electrical switches are," said No. 4, the muscular man, "If we go looking for them, the werewolves might take the opportunity to act."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the faces of the other players.
No one knew if the person sitting next to them, chatting with them, was a werewolf.
Seeing this, No. 1, the old man, suggested, "How about we wait until tomorrow morning to repair them?"
"I have no objection. So what do we do next? This castle seems pretty big. There should be many empty rooms upstairs..." Chiara said.
"But won't splitting up give the werewolf an opportunity?" Dmitri asked, frowning.
The muscular man pondered for a few seconds and said, "For safety's sake, let's all stay together tonight. Does anyone object?"
Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads. No one wanted to be eliminated on the first night.
So the group took advantage of the fact that it wasn't completely dark yet and found a large room on the second floor.
With the werewolf-exclusive Night Vision, Caleb could clearly see everyone's subtle movements through the darkness.
The old man leaned against his Ninetales, looking at Dmitri and the corporate man newbie player in front of him, and proactively shared food from his inventory with them.
As for the newbie named Chiara, she had gotten together with the muscular man.
Caleb turned his head to look at them, and then saw the muscular man pinch Chiara's butt.
Chiara looked full of shy coquettishness and lightly punched the muscular man's arm. Reading her lips, it seemed like she was saying "You're awful."
Caleb: "..."