Ronnie put his phone back into his pocket. "So, what was that all about?"
"… Nothing"
Sebastian's attention had already been drawn away by the latest message that Purgatory had sent his way.
[Welcome to Phase 3!]
[This is your first attempt]
[Conditions of Failure: (1) Death ; (2) Completion Rate less than 80% at next sunrise.]
[Free tip: You cannot quit the tutorial by killing yourself. It's impossible to fail the tutorial! You can, however, get trapped in here forever!]
The failure conditions were a combination of both the first and second phases combined.
While that was interesting… what really pissed Sebastian off was the 'free tip'.
Why the hell wasn't he given any tips in the second round?
Why now!?
No matter how Sebastian looked at it, wasn't he just being mocked again?
Fine!
Let's see who has the last laugh this time!!!
"Ronnie"
"What?"
"From now on, let me do the talking."
"What are you eve-"
Ronnie however never got to complete his sentence.
*BZZZT!*
Someone dressed in black overalls had crept up behind him and hit his neck with a taser.
As he slumped to the ground he started frothing from the mouth, while his eyes rolled inwards exposing the whites.
Sebastian himself wasn't in a much better situation.
While he did manage to dodge the first lunge, his opponents were true experts.
He tried to turn around and tackle them, but instead was immediately swept off his feet and knocked out.
The two of them were thrown into the back of a van as it drove off towards its destination.
Six months ago, Seb and Ronnie had gotten kidnapped by this mysterious gang out of the blue.
While both came from well-to-do families, none of them had enough money to attract the attention of such a large-scale syndicate.
And sure enough… they hadn't been kidnapped for money.
.
.
.
That day, when Sebastian had regained consciousness, he had found himself captive within what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
He had been handcuffed to the metallic table that was placed in the center of the warehouse.
While he had enough room to move his hands about, he could not leave his seat on the table.
The table was shaped like a square and had chairs on three sides.
Ronnie was seated in the chair right across, handcuffed in a similar manner.
And at the head of the table sat a Caucasian man wearing a white shirt, black suit, white gloves, and a black tie.
He had a cleanly shaven bald head and grey-coloured irises.
"Welcome to our humble abode, moi druz'ya! Looks like the both of you have finally woken up!" - [1]
The man clapped before proceeding to rub his hands together, a sadistic grin blooming across his face.
As soon as Ronnie heard those words, he went completely ballistic.
"LET US GO!!!"
It was unsure whether it was the after-effect of the mini seizure he had received while getting knocked out… or he was just being an impulsive dunderhead as usual.
"YOU WILL REGRET THIS!!! THE POLICE WILL FIND US! YOU WILL NOT GET A SINGLE PENNY FROM MY FAMILY!!!"
Ronnie violently rattled his handcuffs in an attempt to free himself.
The only thing he achieved however was proving that the table had indeed been soldered to the ground.
The suited individual just chuckled at Ronnie's outburst before shutting him up with a cold glare.
"How unruly…"
The man gave them a tight-lipped smile while pointing a gun at Ronnie's head.
"While the two of you may be my guests, I still expect you to behave properly. Did your parents not teach you any manners?"
"…" Ronnie could only gulp in fear in response to the direct threat.
"Good! First, let me make one thing clear. I didn't invite you here for your money. I have no use of anything the two of you might be able to give me."
Sebastian couldn't help but frown at that statement
"How can you be so sure?"
"That, moi druz'ya, is because I know everything that there needs to be known about the two of you!"
"…"
"I see… you don't believe me. Well, let me give a small demonstration then!"
The man removed a briefcase and placed it on the table.
From within it, he removed two files and slid them towards the duo.
"Ronald 'Ronnie' Douglas, aged 20, red hair, brown eyes, 185cm, a student of the computer engineering program enrolled within Watago State University, comes from an upper-middle-income family, has no siblings, no criminal record, no special medical conditions… and as it seems… extremely quick-tempered."
"…"
"Sebastian 'Seb' Alaister, aged 20, black hair, black eyes, 180cm, a student of the game design program within Watago State University, parents divorced, upper-middle-income family, has no siblings… that are alive-"
"ENOUGH!"
"-, no criminal records, no recorded medical conditions, and… seems to still have unresolved trauma. How interesting."
Sebastian gritted his teeth as he looked at the file in front of him.
Even though the information was extremely surface level, something that anyone could find out with a little investigation, it still made him feel exposed.
"If you don't want our money, what do you want from us? What will it take for you to let us go!"
Seeing the enthusiastic response, the man smiled in approval before taking back the files and putting away his briefcase.
"It's something extremely simple."
The man rested his arms on the table and crossed his fingers as he leaned forward.
"We are all going to play a very interesting game!"
"A game?"
Seb instinctually felt that the word 'game' had vastly different connotations for the two of them.
The man nodded in response to Seb's rhetoric.
"Yes! It's something that will help test how deep the bonds of your friendship go!"
*BAM*
Ronnie took that as his cue to bang the table.
"NONE OF US WILL EVER BETRAY OUR FRIENDSHIP!"
While Sebastian felt a little annoyed at Ronnie's words… he still shared the sentiment.
Sebastian, Ronnie, and Damien had been through thick and thin since they first hit it off at the freshmen party.
Despite their differences, they cared a lot about the bond that they had forged.
The man in the suit completely ignored Ronnie's words this time and just gave the two a cryptic smile before continuing.
"This is a very interesting and thrilling game! It's something we often used to play from where I came."
"…"
"It's called… Russian Roulette!"
"…'
"AH! Look at your faces, you seem so disappointed… well I am disappointed as well. Even though I wanted us to play Russian Roulette, I did not bring a revolver with me today… Blyat!" - [2]
"…"
"Instead… we will just have to make do with this little baby..."
Saying so their captor placed an ebony black pistol onto the table.
"This little beauty is a seven-shot Colt M1911, the most popular sidearm that can be found within this nation"
*Click*
He proceeded to remove the magazine and rack the chamber to release the bullet within.
"I have, of course, made some modifications to improve its accuracy and deadliness. Just standard procedure though."
He then removed all the bullets stored within the ejected magazine, spilling them all over the table.
"We will just be needing one bullet like the classic version of the game…"
*Click*
A single bullet was loaded into the magazine, which was then fitted back into the gun.
"Thus, the only way to win this game is to shoot first."
*Clack*
He cocked the loaded gun and placed it halfway between Seb and Ronnie.
Far enough that they would have to stretch to get it, but close enough that it was within range of the movement allowed by their handcuffs.
"Go ahead… the game has begun!"
----------------
[1] - (moi druz'ya) means (my friends) in Russian
[2] - (Blyat!) means (F*ck!) in Russian