Reaching for the door handle, he tries to open it but without avail. The equipment storage room was locked.
Ian vaguely remembered that the key to open the door could be brought for 1 point in the item's store. However, his mark was of the black grade. The lowest of grades, with a starting value of zero. Only people of at least a red grade or higher could possibly buy the key right away.
Luckily for him, he was faced with a simple wooden door.
Taking a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do, he raised his leg, placing it just below the door handle.
Stepping back, he then violently slammed his foot against the door.
Thud!
The door rattled, letting out a loud creaking sound that was heard across the whole gymnasium, which immediately drew everybody's attention to him, even of those who were busy excitedly talking about their system.
He ignored it all and took another step back, raised his leg, and once again, violently slammed his foot against the door.
Thud!
The second kick managed to nearly tear the door off its hinges.
"Da fuck do you think you are doing?" Someone shouting over.
Again, he ignored it and stepped back to gain momentum.
Thud!
Baam!
On the third kick, the door's hinges finally gave out, making the door fly and smash against the wall. It momentarily bounced back on the same wall, before ultimately collapsing on the ground.
Without a preamble, he entered the room, stepping on the previous door.
´Oh my… jackpot.'
There were no other words to describe the sight that greeted him.
The room was quite small, being only around 10 m2 by his estimation. Yet it was well-fully stocked with various sports equipment of all kinds. There were multiple pairs of sports shoes put on display on a shoe rack by the door; a large shelving unit filled to the brim with sports gear– and it was likewise the case for the various sports articles hanging on the wall opposing the door, suspended on a mounted rack.
His eyes instantly zeroed in on the black baseball bat resting against the shelving unit.
He took it, patting the bat against his palm. Judging by the feeling it gave in his hand and when striking it against his palm, he concluded that it was probably made of steel. Or maybe aluminum.
"I thought this door was leading to somewhere else, like a corridor or even another section of the building…"
Someone muttered at the threshold.
"It wasn't a bathroom?" Another piped in.
"Apparently no, it was locked, and this brat here broke down the door…"
"Sh-should… I mean to say… are we even allowed to do that?..."
"Dumno…"
People were rapidly flocking toward the room in curiosity.
All the while, Ian has been rummaging through the shelving unit, gathering useful tools like a pair of sports gloves, elbow pads and knee pads, a whistle, some boxing gloves, and even a small backpack.
He even found a weighted sports vest at the very bottom.
'It's not an armor breastplate but it'll do for now.'
A good haul, all in all.
"You again?" Shouted the average-looking guy that caught him earlier using his player's issue card. "Damn, what are you even doing this time?"
He ignored his question in favor of donning his gears.
Sport gloves. Check
Weighted vest. Check
Knee and elbow pads. Check
"I think it's quite obvious though?" Once ready, he answered him, hosting his newly acquired backpack over a shoulder. "I'm preparing to go out."
"What? A-are you crazy? We should all stay here and wait for help." Shrieked a woman with a typical mom's bob-cut hairstyle.
Right. "Which help and how long exactly should we wait for?"
"Huh… That! I don't know. But we could try to contact someone."
"How?" Before she could respond, he quickly followed up. "And don't say with the terminal, that won't work, trust me. I tried." He lied. "Look. There's nothing in this whole building. No water, no food, nothing. I don't plan to stay here and slowly die either of hunger or thirst. And with a great total of zero points, that's what's likely to happen, sooner rather than later. So… I had no other choice but to go outside and try to look for those things."
The woman stammered out. "B-b… but, we're supposed to wait! It's advised in this kind of situation to wait for the rescues in a safe place like we are."
Ian blinked. "Lady, didn't you sign a contract to be here? For money or something else? You've been contracted right? An honest-to-god angel talked to you and even sent you here by teleportation… right? … Does this look like a normal situation to you?"
That shut her up.
Satisfied, he slowly made his way out of the room before stopping at the door threshold.
Outside the small room, a small crowd had gathered. They were watching, listening to his conversation with the woman. Among them were people he was interested in, including the kid.
'My potential golden boy, perfect.'
It was convenient for him. Typically, after one day, when fatigue, hunger, and thirst have taken the time to settle in among everyone, even the most delusional person waiting for help will want to start looking for food and water. Even if it means potentially going out and facing dangers like it has been warned.
And in those cases, the first person, more often than not the loudest voice of the bunch, will press forward the idea of going out to look for food, a better safe house, or even for a way to earn points.
People will flock to this person in search of guidance and follow him– whether it'll be him or someone else, much more reliable in either appearance, actions, or words. It can also happen that two or three people are considered reliable leadership figures in a group, but even then, there will always be a publicly recognized leader.
If he wanted to really stomp the trial, he had to lead a group. After all, a lot of juicy targets are only possible to go after if you're in a group. Besides, the prestige that leading a successful party brings to you later on– especially in the Academy– is considerable.
It was a huge bargaining chip.
However, that wouldn't be easy for him. The fact remains that, in anyone's view, for all intent and purpose, he was a kid. A short, baby-faced, lanky, teenager. Nothing inspiring confidence like the gym-uncle or the hard-faced intimidating middle-aged bodyguard.
This, he was aware of.
Still…
The first step toward forming his own group with him in charge of it down the road was simple.
Taking Initiatives. Always.
Leading via actions and words.
Oozing big PP energy, and showing it off at every opportune time. If everything goes right, he'll no longer have to.
'That starts now.'
Ian smiled in self-assuredness, making sure to make eye contact with any people in the crowd. "If someone is interested in going out, he or she is free to follow me. Strength in numbers and all of that."
"And what do you plan to do if you encounter a monster? Young man." In a low-pitched, gruff voice, the hard-faced bodyguard, Michael, asked him.
"Depending on the situation? Fight it, of course. Why do you think I bothered looking for some gear before going out? I have to cover my base as much as possible."
"... I see, and you think that'll be enough?"
"I think," he paused, smiling. "That waiting here, doing nothing, will yield… guess what? Nothing. We need to be proactive. Starting by looking for food, water, and at least a livable space. I don't know for you, but I'm not thrilled at the idea of sleeping, shitting, and pissing in the same room I live in."
The man frowned, staring at him, but didn't call out his deflection.
Ian shrugged. "In either case, I'm going out to find those things. Alone if I have to."
There. Even if nobody ended up following him, he would just go outside, hunt three or four ghouls, then come back to buy a sword and some food. Just to show off. He'll do the same the next day, and this time, some people were bound to follow him.
Luckily for him. He won't have to. Someone took him on his offer.
"He's right. I don't see myself staying here and doing nothing except waiting while twiddling my thumbs for someone to come help me. This is a trial, and it has already started."
If he expected someone to come with him, it would have been the gym-uncle, if only to make sure that he didn't land himself in trouble. Instead, the person who stepped toward him and spoke was a woman.
She was toned, of the same height as him, wearing a black tank top that highlighted her well-defined biceps and arms. A tattoo covered her left arm and ran along a good portion of her left side. She was also, notably, among other things, sporting a buzz-cut hairstyle.
"I'll go and buy a map with some gear if I can so that we may go looking for food in another safe house." She said to him before striding toward the terminal.
And she apparently knew what she was going into. The fact that she referred to the safe zone as a 'safe house' said as much. Safe zone was the term used by Evangeline and what most of the candidates of the rite would refer to it as. And It wasn't even that incorrect. Nevertheless, the correct term to use was 'safe house'. A 'safe zone' being the area generated by a 'safe house'.
Moreover, only someone with a mark of at least the bronze grade could possibly buy a map of the Island that displays the whereabouts of safe houses, and actively show where supply drop points are, once they fall.
'She's a V.I.P. and quite the knowledgeable one at that.'
Even with the number of points required to buy this kind of map, you can't access this type of item as it was only listed in the V.I.P. item's store which was strictly limited to bronze, silver, and gold grades.
"Huhh… ex-excuse-me sir," Surprisingly, it was the kid that Ian had been targeting since basically seeing him that attracted his attention. "C-can I go with you? Please…"
He blinked, surprised. And he wasn't the only one too.
"Absolutely no!" "No!" Objected both the gym-uncle and another man, this one Latino-looking. They both stared at each other in surprise. A kind of understanding seemed to silently form between them.
"Why do you want to come with us? It's going to be quite dangerous…" Ian unbothered, asked him.
Fidgeting, the boy slowly began answering. "I came with my big sister… a-and… sh-she isn't here… I need to find her… please! Let me accompany you! I promise I won't hold you back! Please! Please mister!"
Ohoho. If he could, he would have rubbed his hand together. "Hey," Ian said, crouching slightly to meet his eyes. "Hey, listen, there's no problem with that Champs. You can come too. I promise you that I'll help you find your sister, as soon as I can. Ok?"
The kid nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks, mister!"
He grinned at him. "None of that, it's alright."
The two other men watched their by-play, shaking their heads in unison. It was harder to rebuke his wish knowing the kid's reason.
"Arghhhh…" The other man sighed in frustration. "I guess I'll be coming with you too, can't leave this kid alone."
"And I'll be coming too." The gym-uncle said, looking at Ian with an appraising gaze.
He was quickly joined in by Michael. "It seems like this is gathering quite the party. There is indeed some safety in numbers. If it's alright with you, we'll be tagging along too."
That made everyone pause, including his own companions.
"Feel free to. No problem, though if you can, and it's valid for anybody, buy some weapons." Ian replied, shrugging.
"We were about to do just that," the man smiled. "Part of our plan was to first either gather or buy information, then weapons to arm ourselves with before going out."
His other friend, Nathan gave him a questionable glance at that. The man, in response, subtly indicated with his head to follow him for a more private talk elsewhere.
"Very well then, I'm going to do some stretching outside. You can join me once you're ready."
They all nodded at that. Smiling, Ian left for the exit.
'So far, so good.'