3 years later.
A head of a hound punctured with a dark sword in the center created a contrasting menacing temperament as it was carved in the golden wall of a carriage, sedately travelling toward the Calinga's main house.
A young kid, aged 3 years old, hopped off the carriage with the bulky old guy of intimidating look opening the door of the carriage.
Blend of sweet scent wafted from the red spider lily growing in the main house's front garden, brewed with the metallic scent emanating from the tall statue of a hound pierced by a dark sword in the center of the garden.
The morning breeze carrying such blend slid through the young man's coal-tinged hair, gracefully dancing along the breeze. His fiery hunter eyes gazed at the statue, yearning for its true origin.
"It was never mentioned in the novel where the Calinga family's emblem originated from. Some dismissed it as the sign of the headmaster's cruel personality but even that was a baseless rumor.", the young kid muttered, his voice deep and resonant.
"Young master Dos, shall we head inside?", the bulky old man gestured, his eyes indifferent as he looked at the young kid.
'This guy, even after 3 years of training, he hasn't opened up to me', Dos couldn't shake off the indifferent gaze of the old guy who had overseen his training for 3 years. His gestures were colder than before.
Nonetheless, the old guy was satisfied with the aftermath of the training.
'I have endured the 3 years and make sure to get as strong as I can get', Dos pondered
With 3 years before the scenario continued, their movements were not restricted. It was part of the rule no.3 where free movements were possible during off-scenario.
A recollection of his past training then entered his mind, entering by bits and pieces.
On day one, he was thrown into a container full of water right after reaching the training ground. When his belly was full of drunk water and he was heaving for last breath, only then did the merciless guy pull him out, his big arms tightly clenching his small head.
He wasn't spared a second to breathe as a healer on standby drew him from death's door. Then, he was thrown again, with water warmer and more polluted than the last.
'Waking up early in the morning to jog, then doing weightlifting once I gained muscle, and finally being stabbed and used to pain at such a young age - these 3 years are hell', the pain was still vivid in his mind.
Nonetheless, his hellish training paid off.
Looking at his trainer loitering in wait for his response, he muttered.
"Let's head in", if Dos had learned something from the Calinga family, it was to speak less and direct.
Indifference and reticence were affiliated to their cruel personality.
Dos stepped in toward the main house and headed directly to the gathering room.
Inside, 8 kids of his age were deeply seated on their seats, with chairs placed on a classroom set-up, facing the front. On the back stood their trainers, their posture dignified and indifferent.
Dos felt the other trainers and kids gazing at him from head to toe as he entered the room. It was clear that they were being assessed outright.
Unfazed, Dos met their eyes.
'Sadiri, the smartest among the 3 survivors of the next culling.', Dos checked out the kid seated in the back, his hand was fidgety and his feet were restless.
His head hastily retracted as his eyes met Dos'. His fingers trembled further, flicking sounds of his fingers filled the room.
*cough
A deep cough resounded.
Sadiri froze and immediately stopped trembling.
'It seems that even the transmigrator who possessed the body of Sadiri is a timid boy.', Dos uttered.
The scenario was yet to commence so who they were at that moment were their the transmigrators' true nature.
Dos then gazed at the young kid sitting in front of the batch, his gaze fiery and locked on him.
Unlike Sadiri who was timid and broke eye contact with Dos, the other young kid exchanged piercing stares with Dos.
[Homobono Calinga]
It was homobono, second most cruel among the brothers.
'Still, he should not be this cruel, not when meeting me at least.', Dos scrutinized.
In the novel, the brothers avert their gaze once they meet Dos. His eyes were the fiercest and his methods were the most cruel.
While other brothers play bullies with Sadiri, Dos was preying on him.
There was one scenario in the novel where the brothers, led by Homobono, played a prank on Dos by making him trip, head first.
A day later, their faces were undistinguishable.
Their noses were disoriented and their cheeks were mashed inwardly.
The headmaster who detest the weak didn't permit healing.
Since then, Dos became a figure of fear in the main house, at least until they entered the academy.
'I have to take advantage of the headmaster's favoritism and suck him dry of resources as much as possible.', Dos schemed of ways to extract resources in guise of rewards, exploiting him before the time for academy came.
At that moment, the door creaked open as a new figure appeared in the room's doorway.
"Hello guys, I'm Banuar. It's nice meeting you all!" Banuar, the 10th son, greeted.
His face displayed the fullest emotion he had. With a smile from ear to ear, his teeth sparkled with elation.
His eyes were bright and his voice was kind.
'This… is he playing his character now?' Dos was caught by surprise
'Banuar grew kind and honest, in contrast with the headmaster's expectations. It is unbefitting of the Calinga which is why Dos who is the most cruel became his favorite, but this, is the transmigrator who possessed his body has the same trait? Or is he just playing characters even off-scenario?', Dos pondered
It was possible that Banuar was also playing a character as even Dos was playing cruel even during off-scenario. Somehow, the character's personality rubbed off him.
However, his doubts were set clear as Banuar hopped off toward him.
"Dos! It's been a while since I saw you. I'm glad to see you are doing well now!", Banuar smiled, shaking the hands of Dos
Indifferent, Dos pulled out his hand and sat on his seat.
He had only met the other characters during scenario 1 and 2, both were part of the main plot and their actions were restricted.
Dos watched as Banuar greeted the other brothers with calmness. Among them, only Sadiri returned a warm response.
Dos could feel a piercing gaze toward him from time to time. Atop others' heads, a green screen containing their names were settled. Among them, only Dos' was different.
His name flashed in red light, menacing and heinous to look at.
'It is probably because I have killed someone', Dos assumed
Heeding no attention to the scrutinizing gazes, Dos called for the system countdown.
[Remaining time before 3rd scenario: 5 minutes]
Only 5 minutes remained before the 3rd scenario.
Dos rested his back against the chair and closed his eyes. If his memory served him right, the next scenario would also be peaceful.
'Survivors will only decline again in the next culling'
'For now, I can rest and train as hard as I can.', Dos pondered, resolved to have the strength needed for the next culling.
Moments later, a system notification woke him from his nap.
[Now Commencing]
[Scenario 3: Sparring
Mission: None
Characters: Banuar Calingan, Dos, Sadiri…. 7 other Calinga brothers
Survivors: 10]
It was the signal for the sparring session to commence.
Walking toward the sparring area in the back of the main house, Dos called out for his status window.
[Status Window
Role: Dos Calinga
Skill/s:
Copycat (Ex) (Level 1)
Calinga Sword Mastery (D)
Calinga's Pledge (A)
Rewards: None
>Rules
>Kills]