It's the middle of second period but Raven Claude is already heading up to the rooftop of the school. He is not the type of student who would do this and cut classes but he has a valid reason to do so now.
It was six in the morning when he received a strange message from Bert, short for Robert, his best friend since middle school.
' I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU. LET'S MEET UP ON THE ROOFTOP. HURRY!'.
Bert is tall, white, a little bit handsome and quite the ladies' man so he just ignored the message and got ready for school.
First period went by and Bert was nowhere to be found. Raven got worried and decided to check the situation upstairs.
Sure enough, his friend is laying there on one benches, sleeping soundly like a baby.
"Hey, what the heck are you doing? It's already second period. If you're not feeling well, just go to the clinic and sleep there." (Raven)
"Dude, I have been waiting for you. You can forget class for now. What I am going to tell you will totally blow your mind. You will thank me later." (Bert)
Bert hastily picked up his bag and tried to check something. Finally, he retrieved two tablets out of the bag. He gave one to the bewildered Raven.
"Okay, this is mine and that's yours. Now put your hand on top of the screen. Try to think of a username or nickname and say it to the screen. Just trust me and do it."
Raven was still skeptical but still went on and used a game character name.
"Agent Raphael." (Raven)
The tablet gave a scanning sound.
{WELCOME TO THE GRAND COLISEUM, AGENT RAPHAEL. THIS DEVICE IS VOICE ACTIVATED AND JUST SAY 'UNLOCK' AND 'LOCK' TO TURN ON AND OFF THE DEVICE RESPECTIVELY. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.}
"Bert, what the heck is this?" (Raven)
"Just calm down and I will explain everything. First, command the screen to go 'WATCH MODE'." (Bert)
"Watch Mode." (Raven)
After saying the command, the tablet on Raven's hand transformed itself like a snake and coiled into his left arm. After a few seconds, he acquired a brand new watch.
After doing the same thing with his tablet, Bert finally explained what happened.
He was minding his own business Saturday morning when he received a message on his phone and the number was not saved.
It said: 'To receive package, follow the instructions.'
He was bored out of his mind and tried the following steps. After a few minutes, he received a package delivered on his front door.
Seeing that it worked, he was very nervous and tried to check the message again. However, the message was no longer on his phone.
So with the message gone, he went to check the box and found the two tablets that they are using right now. There was no return address either. There was only a note stating what to do to activate them just like Raven did.
"So your saying to me that these are stolen?" (Raven)
"Yeah, and I can't return them either so it's ours now."(Bert)
Bert continued that he did wait for some message to return the package but there was none for the past half day. Out of curiosity, he activated one tablet. One of the options on the front page is the word 'Lobby' and unconsciously he uttered that word.
After saying it, the room felt like spinning and when he finally had some grip to it, he was already inside a huge place that look like a casino.
He was welcomed by a man who introduced himself as Richard the Butler. Richard guided him to his personal viewing room.
The room was quite large. It may be good to say that an indoor basketball court could fit inside. There are two seats, one huge circular table and a gigantic screen.
"You know me dude and I don't want to be in trouble so the first thing I did before Richard could continue is to tell him it was an honest mistake that I got the tablets in the first place. If there is any way that I could return it, then I said I would be happy to give it a rightful owner." (Bert)
"Okay, then why the hell do you still have these things?" (Raven)
"He said that since I am the one who received the message, then their delivery department will handle the appropriate solution for the ones who did order it." (Bert)
"Then do you have to pay anything for these?" (Raven)
"Nope. Richard said that to take it as a gift. However, since I already own the thing, we are subjected to the rules and regulations of the Grand Coliseum." (Bert)
Bert continued by describing how awesome the screen is since it is voice activated. Upon turning on, the screen displayed various list of matches. Furthermore, the odds of each contestant.
Raven is almost interested now and asked who are the contestants of the match.
Bert only replied with one word. GLADIATORS!
"They are gambling on Gladiators dude. Humans, Elves, Undead, Cyborg, Fishmen and some other kinds species I don't know what they are called. I tell you, we are going to be rich." (Bert)
"Take it off." (Raven)
Raven extended the arm with the brand new watch.
"Excuse me? Come on, don't you trust me?" (Bert)
"You are clearly delusional from lack of sleep. I told you not to play games too much. I don't have the time to waste on this and you know that. Besides, even if I believe you, how can this help me at all." (Raven)
"All right, you need another proof, huh. Okay, tell me, how much do you think I am worth in money? No, better yet, how much do you think my whole family is worth?" (Bert)
Raven did not expect that Bert would ask such a question. He could see that his friend is actually serious about this and not joking at all.