After resting for the last three days, my skull has fully recovered, but I decided not to train today because it could have really bad consequences.
Instead of training, the arena is my destination. A brawl between a muscular man and a woman catches my eye on the way. The man is Victor, the red-haired man's henchman, but the woman's identity is unclear to me.
"You're playing with fire, you know that?" Victor screams at her. "He'll skin us alive if he finds out."
"Oh, please. You're such a pussy, Victor. Live a little," the girl smirked. "The tournament is a boring. This is the real thrill."
She throws a punch, a blur of speed, but Victor blocks it. "Enough," he snaps. "Or I'll tell him what you want to do."
"Come on, admit it. You're terrified of me," she taunted. "You're nothing but a spineless weenie."
Curious and bored, I watch the fight unfold before me.
"Stop!" he hisses. "He's coming." His voice is tense with anger and fear. She whips her head around and spots the red-haired man approaching. Her face flushes and she snaps to attention, like a soldier facing a superior officer.
He saunters over to them, his hands buried in his pockets. He flashes a smug smile as he surveys the scene. "Well, well, well. Victor and Kira. Fancy meeting you here. What are you two up to?"
Victor shifts nervously, avoiding his gaze. He tries to sound casual, but his voice cracks. "Nothing, sir. Just Kira being Kira," he says, forcing a laugh. "You know her."
Kira rolls her eyes, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She puts on a fake grin, hoping he won't notice the blood on her knuckles. "Yeah, just messing around, no big deal," she says. "We're cool."
He cocks his head, studying them with a curious expression. "Really? Because it looks like you two were having a little disagreement. Something about the guy?"
Victor and Kira exchange a panicked glance, wondering how much he knows. They try to act innocent, but they can feel his suspicion growing.
"No, sir, nothing like that," Victor says, lying through his teeth. "We were just talking about the weather. It's a bit hot today, don't you think?"
Kira nods, playing along. "Yeah, hot and humid. Makes the bees out of sorts, I don't care how much love you send them," she says, quoting him from earlier.
He laughs, but it sounds hollow. He doesn't buy their story for a second. He knows they were planning to go behind his back and take out the guy. He decides to play with them a little, make them sweat.
He narrows his eyes, sensing something is off. He leans in closer, lowering his voice. "Don't worry about the guy. I've got a new plan," he says, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
Victor frowns, confused by the sudden change. He glances at the training arena, where their target is hiding. "But, sir, we have him in our sights," he says. "We are ready to strike."
He slaps Victor on the back, making him flinch. "The plan has changed. No arguments." His voice is cold and sharp, his eyes burning with fury. "Now go and do whatever you two do."
He turns away, whistling a tune. Victor glares at Kira, blaming her for the botched mission. "You nearly ruined everything, Kira. Grow up and stop being so stupid."
Kira snorts, not intimidated by his anger. She clenches her fists, itching for a fight. "You're such a coward. Fight me for once, and maybe we'll have some fun," she spits, her voice dripping with contempt. "Or do you enjoy this dull existence?"
Victor shakes his head, disgusted by her attitude. "Quit bugging me and pick on Gabriel for a change. He's probably in his room," he says.
"He's terrifying. I'm not going near him," she says, her voice trembling. "He gives me the creeps."
Victor sneers, mocking her fear. He walks away, leaving her alone. "And you call me a pussy? Get lost," he says. "I've had enough of you."
Kira tags along with Victor, not caring about his anger. She wants to annoy him, hoping to get a rise out of him. "Hey, Victor, hold on," she says, keeping pace with him. "Don't you want to chat with me? Don't you want to hear how much I respect you?"
Victor walks faster, ignoring her. He can tell she's being sarcastic, and he hates it. He wishes she would go away and leave him alone.
"Come on, Victor. Lighten up," she says, teasing him. "You're such a good slave. You always do what the boss says. You never doubt him. You never think for yourself. You're so loyal and obedient. You're like a good little dog."
Victor tightens his fists, feeling his anger rising. "Shut up, Kira. Just shut up," he says, facing her. "You don't know anything. You don't understand anything. You're a bitch."
Kira grins, enjoying his anger. She likes to see him lose his cool. They keep walking, Kira laughs, but Victor fumes. They don't say anything else; they don't need to.
My curiosity about their scheme intensifies as they walk away, and I try to come up with a way to learn and prevent it. I quickly made a decision to look for a vacant medical room.
I peeked into three occupied medical rooms before finding an empty one. I dashed inside and locked the door behind me. I rummaged through the closets, scanning dozens of documents. Only two of them caught my eye.
I stared at the document, titled "Evolution". It had a list of names, each with a symbol next to it. It stated that a tick meant they had evolved, an X meant they hadn't. All the names had an X, except for one: Hassan Samsara. Who was he? What did Evolution mean? How did he do it? I felt a surge of curiosity and envy. I wanted to know more about him, and maybe even meet him.
The second document contained the brackets for the 2nd round. Valdrin vs Tamashii Sato in the first fight, Ebubekir vs Aurora in the fifth. My eyes landed on the 15th fight: Me vs Maya Patel. A smile spread across my face. I had an advantage over everyone else. I knew the matchups before they did.
After memorizing the matchups, a quick exit was made from the medical room and the personal room was reached. I open the closet and take the notebook out. Victor and Kira were in the notebook, Victor's power was a mystery, but Kira had super speed.
I cooked some food and went to sleep for the night. It was a productive day, I learned new things and discovered more about our foe.
As usual, I woke up in the morning and decided to meet with my friend. I visited Ebubekir to check on him. He opened the door fast and greeted me with a smile. I followed him to the couch and sat down. He handed me a drink; I thanked him and took a sip. "How are you doing after the accident?" I asked. He smiled at me and said, "I've been doing well lately, thanks for your concern." He paused and looked down. "Have you seen Mehmet recently?" I asked curiously. "Oh, I heard he lost his fight against Maya Patel. But at least he is alive, I hope he has good luck in the free for all fight so he can come back." I felt a pang of sadness and worry for our friend. "Me too," I said softly.
So, Mehmet lost against my round 2 opponent. This worries me even more. Maybe I will need to train or even 'evolve' my power to beat her.
After chatting with Ebubekir for a few hours at his room, we hug and say goodbye as I head out. It was refreshing to catch up with my friend and laugh about old times, so I can relax from this insane tournament.
I check the main conference and see something new. There are two documents sealed in glass and wood frames.
"The Rules" is the title of the first document. It lists 11 rules in numerical order. As I examine it closely, I sense the potential for disorder and exploitation that it entails.
The second had the title "The Points System". It described a new system where participants could earn points by winning matches and use them to influence the outcome of the tournament in various ways. It also mentioned the possibility of forming factions with other participants, which could provide advantages.
The information was too much for me to handle, so I snapped a photo of each document with my phone.
I rushed to my room, my eyes fixed on my phone, studying the documents again and again. I was so engrossed that I didn't see the person coming until I crashed into him. I gasped and looked up, ready to apologize.
He said, "no problem" in a flat voice. He was a tall, well-built man with black hair and black eyes that seemed to bore into me. His face was blank, but there was something sinister about him. I felt my heart hammer in my chest as I met his stare.
I turned around and ran to my room, getting there in two minutes. I jumped into bed and went over the documents again. After a few times, I grasped the rules and the point system. The point system could make or break everything.
I let my thoughts carry me into slumber.
For the next few days, nothing interesting happened. I gave in to my procrastination and followed a dull routine: wake up, eat, read, eat, sleep.
That was until my boring routine was interrupted by a phone call. The caller ordered me to go to the main conference room right away. I got ready and rushed there as quickly as possible. I saw a few people sitting on chairs, but most of them were empty. I took a seat and waited. As time passed, more people arrived. They must have called us in alphabetical order.
The chairs filled up quickly, and I couldn't find my friends in the crowd. As I was about to get up and look for them, Dr. Aria Malik stepped onto the podium in front of us. He greeted us and announced that he would reveal the tournament brackets for round 2.
He presses a button and the tv slid down from the ceiling, flickering to life. The brackets flashed on the screen, and my heart sank. I knew I was up against Maya Patel, the ruthless fighter who had defeated Mehmet in the previous round. But that was not what shocked me. What shocked me was the change in the other fights.
The first fight was between Valdrin and Ebubekir, my two best friends since childhood. How could this happen? How could they switch the opponents at the last minute?
Then it hit me. Someone had sabotaged them. Someone had used the new point system to manipulate the brackets. Someone who wanted to see us suffer. Someone who wanted to see us kill each other. The man behind this twisted game. I knew he had a plan, but I didn't know what it was. Now I knew. And I hated him for it. I clenched my fists, feeling a surge of anger and fear. I had to stop him. I had to stop him before he did anything else. I had to stop him before he came for me.
Valdrin pushed back his chair and walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head down. I wanted to go after him, to tell him we were still a team. But I knew he wouldn't listen. He needed time to process what had just happened. He needed space. I stayed in my seat, feeling a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. I tried to distract myself with the tv, but all I could see was his face. His face that showed me his pain, his brokenness.
I skimmed the document that showed the costs for different actions. Switching the opponents of two fighters was five points. But how could anyone afford that? The maximum anyone could have earned by now was two points, and that was only for killing their opponent. Then it hit me. He had created a faction already and used the points of his members. He was clever, and dangerous. I had to be careful.
He had made a clever move, but it also gave me a crucial clue: his name. I headed to the faction room, where a man welcomed me, and I inquired about the current active factions. He glanced at his computer screen, clicked a few buttons and swiveled it towards me, showing the two open factions and their leaders.
The first one was "The Dark Harvest", with only three members and led by… Hassan Samsara.
The second one was "The Bloodfury", with a dozen members. This had to be the one, I was certain. And the leader was… Stryker Bloodthorne.