Anyways, he wanted to talk to you."
"I... um, I'm sorry for shouting at you like that back then," Short spoke in an apologetic manner. "I didn't mean to... I-I know you did your best in that fight it's just... "
Short clenched his fists and bit his lips. "If only I were a bit stronger." He thought.
Ever since Short's group regained consciousness, Knuckle's camaraderie resonated amongst the group, drawing them to him. He was the alpha of the group, with strength and a good heart; they really admired Knuckle, making their parting all the worst. Even now, Short could still remember Knuckle's promise to them— that they will get out of this place, no matter what, and he will be the one to lead them out, all the way.
Red could feel the intense emotions welling up inside Short. It had only been a few days since Knuckle's death. "And no one could get over someone's death in mere days," Red said to himself as he patted Short's shoulder.
"I felt the same way...
"... when Knuckle turned pale and plopped into the ground, I wanted to shout too. I made a promise to him. I told him we'll get out of there together. You don't have to apologize." Red said, removing the slight feeling of guilt within Short's inner self.
"It was no one's fault, so let's not dwell on it. Knuckle wouldn't want that." They heard the voice of a girl, speaking in a gentle tone. "The name's Lily."
Lily was none other than the girl who dragged Short away from Red when he was about to jump on him.
"I'm Red, although you probably already knew that." Red amicably said, extending his hand. Lily shook it in return.
Red glanced at Lily, doing a double-take after seeing her hair. Although he noticed it when they first met, he only realized that they almost had the same hair color. The only difference was the shade; Red had a light reddish tint while Lily had a shade of auburn. Lily's hair bounced as she smiled towards Red. "Nice to meet you again." She said, her eyes glowing a rich red color as the bright lights bounced off it.
... ....
Suddenly, the atmosphere of the place changed. The once noisy Dome fell into a deep silence, making Red dart glances all around him. "What's going on?" He thought, letting go of Lily's hand due to distraction.
"Why are they looking at me?" Red asked himself, looking at his group to see if they had any idea. To his disappointment, he only received head-shakes.
"Wait... "
"Don't tell me!"
"Red raised his hand as he started denying every one of their accusations. Well, if it could be called that. (Red only assumed that everyone was thinking of the same thing and since he had no idea, he decided to deny it.) "It's a misunderstanding everyone... I only met Lily twice, don't misunderstand. She's a good friend of mine, nothing else... yet?" Red vehemently denied, his voice trailing off on the last word he said.
Curl heard it nonetheless. "Yet?! What do you mean 'yet'? What are you implicating, Red?" Curl asked with a peaceful expression. "Explain yourself!"
"Well... it's just that... " Red started defending himself. For a moment, he thought he was on a court trial, but he snapped into reality after someone interrupted his words.
"Relax, it's nothing to worry about." Lily brushed it off as if she didn't hear a single word from Red. "We all heard what happened a few days ago, it was a heated topic between the block owners, after all."
"Topic? What? Wait, did I miss something?" Curl continued. She still hasn't moved on yet.
"Don't play dumb, about the two outclasses! Red defeated them, right?" Lily's eyes sparkled as she went nearer Curl. "Tell us what happened!"
By the time Red snapped back into reality, a group of workers already gathered around him as if he was a lamb about to be sacrificed to the altar. "Ah.. eh... " Red didn't want any attention to himself, that's why he just muttered gibberish words.
"He defeated two outclass humanoids, that's all there is to it." Blond waved them off, grabbing Red out of the encirclement. "If you want to know more, then ask Jarxen himself."
"Thanks," Red smiled at him. "I mean, it was easy brushing them off but I didn't want to garner any favors from them. We're going into a mock battle so I'd best be careful."
"You're not the only one who thought about it. We cannot reveal any trump cards we have. In any case, don't overexert yourself. Your ribs aren't fully healed yet."
Scar went behind Blond and Red and slapped both of them in the back. "Our leader's getting famous!" He grinned.
"Wha.... huhh~" Red sighed.
It's going to be a long day.
*Crackle* *Crackle*
"Greetings, workers of the Nexus Corporation." A lifeless voice boomed from the loudspeakers. "Welcome to the Elite Conquest. That's the name I came up with for this year's mock battle between blocks."
It was no surprise for the block owners to see the workers murmuring amongst each other. No one knew what the mock battle was all about since every year would be different. It was no exemption this year. Even the block owners listened in curiosity as Head Cipher informed them of the rules and mechanics of the game.
"Today's mock battle will be a conquest that will last twenty-four hours. Of course, it won't be a simple conquest."
Suddenly, a huge screen showed up on the dome's ceiling, showing a map of some sort. "This is the map where the mock battle will take place. On this map, twenty flags are randomly generated via humanoids. A flag represents rulership over five percent of the entire map. The top blocks who could get into the top three will have an advantage on the next event."
"Next event? So this isn't the last one." Red said to himself as he focused more on internalizing the announcement. "Will that next event be Runners Survivors? If so, then our block should get that advantage no matter what!"
"The flags will be guarded by different humanoids so proceed with caution. Once you get a flag, anyone is allowed to steal the flag from you. You can use any means to get the flag as long as you don't kill each other... and also, please be reminded that rules don't apply on humanoids."
*Gasp!*
A series of gasps echoed around the Dome as they realized the meaning behind those words: you can be killed by a humanoid if you weren't careful!
"And yes, if you get killed by a humanoid, it will be deemed as an unfortunate accident in the workplace. Best be careful." Behind the cold monotone voice behind the speakers, the workers in the dome could feel a snicker emanating from the mysterious voice even though they couldn't see the person.
"Lastly, you will each be given two-pronged electrical discharger in case you fought between yourselves. Last year, there was a... an unfortunate accident behind those items but we've decided not to get rid of it. It's enjoyable that way, I wager."
"Two-prong blah blah... what's that Red?" Scar mocked the fancy name of the item.
"A taser, in short. I didn't get it first as well but after hearing 'electrical dischargers', it just clicked in my mind." Red answered with confidence.
"We'd best stick around each other. For all we know, we might get attacked by other workers." This time, Blond spoke up. The stakes on this mock battle was high, and if you're not careful, it might be your last day as a living person.
Curl went closer to Red as she tugged on his shirt"I agree, l-let's stick to each other."
"O-oi! What are you doing?!" Red almost tugged his shirt back but he condescendingly permitted her to, since he could feel her terror and nervousness. "Relax, self, you're a little bit scared, everyone's scared. There's no need to scare them even more." He mumbled to himself.
This time, Red puffed his chest in front of his group, hoping that this gesture would bolster confidence in them. "Let's get that advantage. You with me?" Red forced a grin on his face.
"Of course!"
"You don't have to say it."
"Let's do this, leader!"
Red's group wasn't the only one coming up with a plan to secure their survival; some of the other groups who got acquainted just a few minutes ago, formed alliances, and some already made a mental note on who to watch out for during the mock battle. As for the former strategy, it was a dumb move. First, you only met the other workers a few minutes ago. How could you form an alliance with someone you can't trust?
Red almost shouted 'are you stupid?!' to those who allied themselves but he knew better. "It's best not to mess with them. They might find me a common enemy and target our group later. It'd be best to leave them alone and let them turn against each other." Red reminded himself.
After all, he already got a lot on his plate. He didn't have the leisure to worry about others not belonging to his block.
"And one more reminder. In order to not get any stalemate, this mechanic will be added into the mock battle: weapons will be randomly dropped in certain areas and you can use them as much as you want. Betraying your block and joining another is fine as well, so don't worry about dying when your block loses. As long as you merge with another block, you'll be fine."
"And... did I mention that getting killed during the mock battle is considered as... oh, I already mentioned that. Without further ado..." a hint of excitement was now evident in Head Cipher's voice.
"Let the Elite Conquest commence!"