It is the evening of December third. Our "day off" is about to end as well as some of the lives of the people gathered on the first floor. We're told that there will be an announcement about the second stage that will happen only a few hours away from now.
With the chairs and tables retracted to the ground, the first floor became a place of announcement again for the warden.
Standing at the only platform with the huge screen behind him, the intimidating warden readied himself for an announcement. It seems that fixing his already fixed bow tie is a mannerism of his. He also fixed the monocle on his left eye.
Before speaking the warden cleared his throat as if a whole hamburger is stuck in it.
"Tomorrow will be the start of the second stage."
The warden let out a huge sigh. Again, he is disappointed. He said that he expected more survivors from the first stage since it is "easier" than the previous year. Yet, more than half of the prisoners perished in the first stage. And the warden continued that they'd already spent a huge sum for the next stages.
"Anyway, we're going to let you choose where to start in tomorrow's stage."
The screen behind the warden lit up. In it is the map for the second stage. It is a circular land with something in the middle surrounded by a green area. The green area must be a forest, I thought.
At the top, bottom, left, and right side of the entire map is a white square. These squares are the starting areas for this stage. The warden told us to choose which area we would like to start at.
He said that by clicking the button located below our chin in the collar, the map will be projected and we can click the square we choose.
"Choose before sleeping."
Based on the warden Andrei Fraser, letting us choose our starting area is a way for us to start the stage with people we wanted to work with. Thus, increasing our chance of survival.
Somehow I am relieved. With what the warden said, I am sure that the next stage is quite similar to the first in the fact that it is us against the game makers. He also remarked that they have decreased the difficulty of the stage.
"Try hard to survive. Again, give us a good show."
Those words ended the warden's announcement. Genjo stood in his stead, he told us we have an hour to speak with the others before we head back to our rooms.
Most of the prisoners approached people they thought would be useful. Some even tried to persuade Jin and Urick. But they already made up their mind and refused the offers.
With his full attention fixated on the projected map, Finnley spoke.
"I guess it's obvious that the objective will be at the center of the map."
The hour passed with us staring at the projected map and somehow trying to study and know important details that would help us in the upcoming stage. But the map alone is not enough to give us any vital information aside from assuming that the objective lies at the center of the map.
We have decided to choose the starting area at the left of the map. Since no one knew whether the starting location will affect the stage's difficulty. And if the map portrays the stage as it is, the distance from each starting point to the center seems to be equal.
"Return to your rooms."
Readying myself to sleep, I lay on my soft bed while I try to remove every thought that kept lingering in my head. My whole body is tingling and my mind prevents me from falling asleep. It took me around an hour to finally enter a light sleep.
Felt like I just fell asleep when I am awakened by the sound of the glass door sliding open. My head hurts a bit. The personnel's instructions slip through my ears like a passing wind. Still not fully awake, I am already wearing the Virtual Reality gear.
As the personnel stuck the needles connected to a tube which is necessary for giving the body supplements, I was startled and remembered the old lady. It jumpstarted my body, but the equipment is already activated.
Again with the feeling of falling deep into the ocean, I entered Virtual Reality.
Blinding light greeted my eyes the moment I opened them. It came from the sun. Weird how the sun shone so bright yet it isn't that hot. The fact that my body felt great as if I have had a great rest also made everything weirder.
Around me are hundreds of other players that chose the same starting point. This time I wore a black long-sleeved shirt that tight-fitted my body and tactical camo pants that has a lot of pockets. Everyone also has the same attire.
A few seconds later the holographic screen popped up.
"Second Stage: Lust"
"Tower Siege"
"At the center of the stage, a sky-high and slim tower is located. This tower emits surges of wind filled with malice and miasma that feeds every single vicious being that calls this stage home. Outsiders that have decided to go near the tower all died in vain. The tower is ancient, a small amount of force seems to be enough to topple the tower and crash it to the ground."
"Objective:"
"Destroy the tower."
"Siege will start in 10 minutes"
"Killing another player is not allowed. Punishment: A whole day of torture and death."
I looked around, scouting the area and looking for people that I am allied with. Behind the starting area lies a long fall and waiting below are thousands of spikes. We could still not pass the invisible wall to enter the stage. This time the invisible wall also blocks our vision of the area past it.
Though the starting area is just as wide as a school gym, It's a bit hard to look for the others since there are hundreds of other people and we all have the same attire.
"Gray!"
From the distance behind me is Finnley. He is already with Amelka and Urick.
"Hey," I replied.
"Sup, man," Urick replied.
Amelka raised her right hand for her greeting.
"How about the others?" I asked.
Finnley smiled and pointed in front of him.
"I'm sure that's Jin."
As I looked in the direction where Finn pointed, how did I not see him? I thought. Towering everyone around him, Jin stood still in his place while looking at the ground.
On our way to Jin, I decided to call him from afar.
"Hey, Jin!"
Jin looked in our direction with a smile and tilted his head upward. As we get closer I realized why Jin was looking at the ground. He's with Aran who is sitting on a rock. Aran stood up and greeted us.
"Oh. Hello everyone."
Though he has a smile on his face, it felt forced.
There are still a few minutes before the stage starts. Thankfully we have managed to find each other, well I guess the longer timer is solely for that reason.
Finnley started to talk about the objective of this stage. He paused for a bit and switch topics.
"We should also be careful in using our bombs."
Both Amelka and Urick nodded in response. While Jin spoke.
"Agreed."
I on the other hand am a bit confused.
"Wait, what bombs?"
Finnley took something out of his right pocket. A silver circular object almost the size of a golf ball.
"This."
How could someone not feel something as big as a golf ball inside his pocket? Well, the pockets in our pants are designed like the pouches in the gate of Diligence in the first stage. A bottomless pocket where you will only feel something once you delve inside.
I also reached into my pocket and took out a similar object. It has two buttons that have different colors. Looking at it for a few seconds, its description popped up. Subconsciously I read the name of the item aloud.
"Bomb Voyage..."
I glanced over at everyone. Finnley couldn't hold it and chuckled, Urick is laughing aloud, Jin's clueless and wrinkled his eyebrows trying to understand, while Amelka let out a chuckle that lasted for a second.
"Bomb Voyage"
"This bomb is a gift to the mighty. You can set this bomb by clicking the blue button and activate it by clicking the red one. Bomb Voyage could be a timer or a poison gas bomb."
"Poison gas only affects creatures that feed off the tower's malice. Stronger ones don't die from the poison. They will only be paralyzed for a period of time."
"Bombs in possession: 8"
Finnley cleared his throat and started talking again.
"We still don't know about who or what we should use these bombs."
He repeated that we have to be careful using them. Finnley continued that he already tried setting the option of a bomb. By clicking the blue button a screen will pop up with buttons labeled "Timer" and "Poison Gas".
Clicking the timer will let you set the time the bomb will go off as an explosion while setting it as a gas bomb will change the color of the bomb to purple. Finnley also thinks that setting a few as a gas bomb would be a good idea since it will have no harm to us and we have no knowledge of how strong the timer bombs will be.
One thing I am worried about is Aran. He didn't speak even once after he greeted us. His gaze and mind are somewhere else all the time. Urick seemed to have realized it as well and decided to talk to him.
"Hey old man, you okay?"
Startled, Aran smiled, "I'm fine."
Two minutes before the start of the second stage, someone approached us. I remember him on the spot. Long straight black hair, pale skin, and a bit tall yet skinny. Without his circular glasses, he appeared a bit different. He walked straight to us with a smile that somehow reminded me of Toby.
"Can I join your team?" he asked.