Chapter 7:
Lay Low, Yuka
Hero Duality
Yuka stood back in the gathering area, surveying the place, getting the tour she needed because she was now forced to be prepared for the next round. Guards were stationed at each perimeter. High up, a holographic wall displayed numbers that fell and rose, names of people and profiles with very basic information about the players with their rankings. There were two types of rankings: one titled “Hero”, with small portrait pictures and first names beneath it.
1. Leo
Then, she glanced at the second ranking titled, “Villain.”
There are villains here? She didn't get to read the names on the list because she was interrupted by the fox guard. He had a label on his uniform that said, “Sune”. “I see you’re more interested today to learn.”
“I am curious today.” Curious for her survival, she pointed at the “27,560” neon number high on the wall. “What do these numbers represent?”
“The number of people on this floor,” Sune answered.
She looked around. She didn’t realize how big this area was. It looked deep, but she was staying closer to her floor than exploring. “Is it always this high?”
“No, most ar-” he paused, almost hesitating before continuing. “Most people on this floor are here to scout the third generation rookies.”
“To recruit them to their guilds?” She figured that would be the most logical reasoning.
The fox hesitated again. “Yes.”
Yuka narrowed her eyes. He is not telling the truth. But she didn't pressure him for an answer because she didn't care why they were there.
“What about those tiny numbers?” There were, one to ten and another from one to twenty.
“You can teleport to any floor you wish. All players can move around within these floors or go to the ground arena to test their skills in the dungeons. Outside of these floors, there are dorms for each generation, but you are not allowed to access each other’s floors.”
Yuka hummed. She could look for her parents and Jun then by going carefully through each floor, although she was disappointed that she couldn’t go through the dorms. “How many people passed these games?”
“It says there.” He pointed at the other large number.
Yuka stared at it: 357,084.
“No! How is the number low!” She grabbed Sune's collar, pulling him towards her. He blinked, almost confused. “Are you telling me only this many made it from everyone?”
“Well, to be exact. Only 6,000 from the first generation made it. The rest are second generation.”
Her grip weakened as a chill went down her spine. What about her parents? Her parents… only that many? Did they even survive? Something within her broke, cracking as she tried to bring herself back to reality. There was no way they survived. She would be a fool to cling to the hope that they made it but… a voice at the back of her head started to whisper that she was a bad daughter to assume they would be dead. How could she betray her family by not even trying to search for them? If she truly loved them, it didn't matter what their chance of surviving was; she should look for them. She trembled slightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. This wasn't a time to show weakness. “Didn’t you say…. the first generation never played these games?”
“That's right. For one year, barely anyone died, but then the second generation came. The first generation just weren't used to playing aggressively so they were easily overpowered and annihilated. This truly shows the capability and strength of the second gen: unrivalled prodigies.”
Yuka stared at Sune dumbfoundedly before looking at her surroundings. The eyes on her were making her more aware now. These people weren't scouting her for their guilds… these people were scouting her as prey. The enemy was much closer to her.
A loud cheer broke her out of the trance as she whipped her head back. High on the wall, four screen showcased players. She had a glance before, but she didn't fully focus on it. “What is this?”
“This is Round Two. From here onwards, most of the games will be exclusively created for third gen players to keep things fair.” Sune smiled at the screen. “This will show the skills and powers each player has. Then everyone votes who they believe belongs in the rankings or scouts talent to their guilds. Even the sponsors are watching and voting with everyone else.”
Yuka felt like her head would explode. They couldn’t even hide their skills because everyone would be watching them? On the screen, she saw a woman in a red vest run fiercely, jumping over a small cliff and immediately squeezing herself into a tree log. Her aggressive breathing was audible.
In another screen, she can see many people in green, strolling through the forest. They were looking around, checking the bushes and caves.
“What's going on there?” Yuka asked, but before she could hear an answer, a loud scream pierced through the megaphone. The girl in the red vest was pulled out, by her feet from inside the log as she flared her arms and kicked her legs around in a struggle.
“LET ME GO! LET ME GO-” She thrashed around as two guys snickered. Without hesitation, the man with green hair held her head as the other man held her in place. Her screech was so loud that Yuka wanted to press on her ears but she suddenly went silent. An arrow lodged in her head, coming from inside the man's hand, as if his body were pumping out the weapon.
A loud ding, dang, dung echoed in the space. “Congratulations, Team 007. The green team won. You've proven yourselves worthy, or at least, lucky. But don't get too comfortable. That was just the warm-up.“
The crowd watching barely clapped. “Borrrring.”
“Booooo.”
“Round Two is about to begin again. All rookies assigned as 008, please head to Ground 17”
The dissatisfied crowd yelled, and Yuka wasn't sure what they were dissatisfied with. She was not interested in finding out because she knew she would not like the answer.
“What are you waiting for?” Sune turned to her. She tilted her head in confusion. “You’re next.”
1. Leo
2. Elara
3. Asuna
4. K
5. Manami
6. Minzi
7. Luca
8. Vivan
9. Mateo
10. Hera
Then, she glanced at the second ranking titled, “Villain.”
There are villains here? She didn't get to read the names on the list because she was interrupted by the fox guard. He had a label on his uniform that said, “Sune”. “I see you’re more interested today to learn.”
“I am curious today.” Curious for her survival, she pointed at the “27,560” neon number high on the wall. “What do these numbers represent?”
“The number of people on this floor,” Sune answered.
She looked around. She didn’t realize how big this area was. It looked deep, but she was staying closer to her floor than exploring. “Is it always this high?”
“No, most ar-” he paused, almost hesitating before continuing. “Most people on this floor are here to scout the third generation rookies.”
“To recruit them to their guilds?” She figured that would be the most logical reasoning.
The fox hesitated again. “Yes.”
Yuka narrowed her eyes. He is not telling the truth. But she didn't pressure him for an answer because she didn't care why they were there.
“What about those tiny numbers?” There were, one to ten and another from one to twenty.
“You can teleport to any floor you wish. All players can move around within these floors or go to the ground arena to test their skills in the dungeons. Outside of these floors, there are dorms for each generation, but you are not allowed to access each other’s floors.”
Yuka hummed. She could look for her parents and Jun then by going carefully through each floor, although she was disappointed that she couldn’t go through the dorms. “How many people passed these games?”
“It says there.” He pointed at the other large number.
Yuka stared at it: 357,084.
“What happened to the three million people?” She had to hold her shock. “Is that all of them?”
“Sadly, yes. The number is very high but 125,000 just passed yesterday, so it makes sense for it to be this high.”“No! How is the number low!” She grabbed Sune's collar, pulling him towards her. He blinked, almost confused. “Are you telling me only this many made it from everyone?”
“Well, to be exact. Only 6,000 from the first generation made it. The rest are second generation.”
Her grip weakened as a chill went down her spine. What about her parents? Her parents… only that many? Did they even survive? Something within her broke, cracking as she tried to bring herself back to reality. There was no way they survived. She would be a fool to cling to the hope that they made it but… a voice at the back of her head started to whisper that she was a bad daughter to assume they would be dead. How could she betray her family by not even trying to search for them? If she truly loved them, it didn't matter what their chance of surviving was; she should look for them. She trembled slightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. This wasn't a time to show weakness. “Didn’t you say…. the first generation never played these games?”
“That's right. For one year, barely anyone died, but then the second generation came. The first generation just weren't used to playing aggressively so they were easily overpowered and annihilated. This truly shows the capability and strength of the second gen: unrivalled prodigies.”
Yuka stared at Sune dumbfoundedly before looking at her surroundings. The eyes on her were making her more aware now. These people weren't scouting her for their guilds… these people were scouting her as prey. The enemy was much closer to her.
A loud cheer broke her out of the trance as she whipped her head back. High on the wall, four screen showcased players. She had a glance before, but she didn't fully focus on it. “What is this?”
“This is Round Two. From here onwards, most of the games will be exclusively created for third gen players to keep things fair.” Sune smiled at the screen. “This will show the skills and powers each player has. Then everyone votes who they believe belongs in the rankings or scouts talent to their guilds. Even the sponsors are watching and voting with everyone else.”
Yuka felt like her head would explode. They couldn’t even hide their skills because everyone would be watching them? On the screen, she saw a woman in a red vest run fiercely, jumping over a small cliff and immediately squeezing herself into a tree log. Her aggressive breathing was audible.
In another screen, she can see many people in green, strolling through the forest. They were looking around, checking the bushes and caves.
“What's going on there?” Yuka asked, but before she could hear an answer, a loud scream pierced through the megaphone. The girl in the red vest was pulled out, by her feet from inside the log as she flared her arms and kicked her legs around in a struggle.
“LET ME GO! LET ME GO-” She thrashed around as two guys snickered. Without hesitation, the man with green hair held her head as the other man held her in place. Her screech was so loud that Yuka wanted to press on her ears but she suddenly went silent. An arrow lodged in her head, coming from inside the man's hand, as if his body were pumping out the weapon.
A loud ding, dang, dung echoed in the space. “Congratulations, Team 007. The green team won. You've proven yourselves worthy, or at least, lucky. But don't get too comfortable. That was just the warm-up.“
The crowd watching barely clapped. “Borrrring.”
“Booooo.”
“Round Two is about to begin again. All rookies assigned as 008, please head to Ground 17”
The dissatisfied crowd yelled, and Yuka wasn't sure what they were dissatisfied with. She was not interested in finding out because she knew she would not like the answer.
“What are you waiting for?” Sune turned to her. She tilted her head in confusion. “You’re next.”
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