Luke bolted up in his bed. He was woken up by a loud alarm that was currently blaring out.
"THE GATES HAVE OPENNED. YOU ARE SAFE IN PLEASURE. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE PLEASURE. WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE THAT DO."
The message was repeated 3 times before it ended.
Luke lay back down on the bed, he could tell that he hadn't been asleep for long. However, even with the alarm over it wasn't easy to get back to sleep.
He trusted that this place would be protected from the waves that came out of the gate but it still made him nervous to know what was going on outside. Back in the sanctuary, it wasn't unheard of for people to die when the gates opened, they didn't have the resources to protect everyone. The most people could do was hide and hope for the best.
While Luke had improved a lot since getting the system he was nowhere near being able to face anything that came through the gate. Only the most elite individuals in the whole of London were capable of facing off against them. Anyone with that amount of skill had become the Azure World's version of celebrities. People even gossiped about their everyday lives.
Luke had never met any of them but he had seen a couple of them in passing. He imagined a few would be protecting the sanctuary right now.
With nothing he could do Luke stayed in bed and he calmed himself down enough that he drifted back into sleep.
Luke woke a few hours later. The first thing he did was take a shower. When he had been told before about the showers he had been shocked. He hadn't had a proper shower in months. The best he had done was throw a bucket of water over his head. There was an extra cost for having a shower and he wasn't allowed very long but any cost would have been worth it.
He found the shower room and used the token he had paid for the night before. Stepping into the water Luke thought he had died and gone to heaven. The water pressure was no more than that of a leaky tap, but the water was warm and he could feel all the grime and blood washing off his body. To add to the wonderful experience there was even a clean white towel waiting for him at the end.
Heading back to the room Luke stopped once again to look in the mirror. Even though his hair had always been a dark brown it had gotten darker with all the dirt. After the shower, it was a shade lighter. Despite the improvements the system had made to his face, his nose was still crooked. It had been ever since his father had hit him as a child and they hadn't reset it properly. It was the thing he hated most about his face. It reminded him of his parents. He had ditched his surname but his nose was a permanent reminder.
Putting the bad memories aside Luke left his room and headed downstairs to the reception. Unlike before he had gone to bed there were plenty of customers in the seats and they were all eating.
Luke walked up to the woman behind the counter. "Could I get some food?"
"Of course take a seat and I will bring some to you."
"Thank you very much."
Luke took a seat. After a year in the Azure World, he was pretty used to going for long stretches without food, plus the blue light meant people didn't need as much food to live, but it didn't take away their hunger.
The older woman arrived at his table with a hot plate of food.
"Here you go." she placed the food down which appeared to be a bowl of rice with a canned meal of meat soup on the top.
"Wow, I can't believe this I haven't seen a meal like this in months." Luke immediately took a bite. "It's amazing!"
"Hahahah, I will let my husband know you like it." The woman gave a warm smile. "I thought I hadn't seen you around here before. This your first time in Pleasure?"
"Yeah, it is. I was going to ask, how come so many people need hotels here?"
"Well, most don't have the money to afford to stay here for long. They just stay for a few days at a time to enjoy the casinos and the well... night-time activities. The more expensive hotels are full of high-ups from the factions, who have other places to be most of the time."
"I see."
"What brings you here? You were lucky to get in before the Gates opened last night. The place is shut down till the gates close again."
"Well, I am competing in the arena."
"Wow, that's pretty dangerous work you sure you want to do it?"
"Don't worry I'm tougher than I look."
"Hahaha, actually you already look pretty tough to me," The woman laughed and Luke remembered how much his body had changed he probably did look a lot more intimidating now. "I better get back to the other customers but good luck in the arena. I am Fiona, if you need any advice about the town doubt hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, Fiona."
Luke finished his food quickly, now that he knew he was shut in Pleasure, he started to worry about Ra.
"Hey Ava you think Ra will be okay?"
"Don't worry about him, he will be fine. I promise."
"Thanks, Ava."
"No worries. If I thought he was in danger I wouldn't let you sit around in here."
"If only you cared as much about me as him, this would be so much easier."
"Keep dreaming."
Luke decided to head out and see Jasper to find out more about the arena. He was starting to get excited about competing. Though dealing with Jasper didn't sound exciting. But his stepfather had always taught him not to judge people too soon, something that really hadn't helped him of late. Still, he wasn't willing to give it up, even if the masked man had told him to ideals like that until he was stronger.
When he found the stall from before, there was no queue this time. He couldn't see Jasper either, there was just the same young woman from before. He walked all the way up to the counter but the woman was too focused to notice. Her long blonde hair obscured her face from Luke, but he could see her writing something on a piece of paper.
"Excuse me.." Luke said and the woman almost jumped out of her seat.
"Sorry..." She pushed whatever she was working on to the side with such speed, that it couldn't be any clearer she was attempting to hide it. But Luke wasn't nosey. "Hello there how can I help you?"
When he saw her face up close, Luke was taken aback by the woman's appearance. She just looked so normal. Not because she wasn't beautiful, she definitely was, but she didn't hold any of the signs of having lived in the apocalypse. She didn't have a single scar on her face or arms, Her hands looked as if they hadn't been used for any sort of hard work. She was around Luke's age, but it didn't look like they had had the same experience of the Azure World at all.
"Well, I was looking for Jasper. He was going to tell me more about the arena and sign me up." Luke replied to her question.
"I'm afraid that Jasper won't be here for a while as he is busy dealing with the waves from the gate. The arena is also cancelled for the time being."
"Oh well, I guess I can come back later then." Luke was impressed that Jasper was involved in the protection of Pleasure. There must have been more to him than Luke realised.
"No need I am also an arena rep and I am more than happy to help. As you can see I am not exactly swamped with work with the arena closed."
"That would be great thanks." Luke gave a big smile and the woman didn't respond for a moment. As the silence extended Luke decided to add "All okay?"
Shaking her head she responded at last "Sorry. The rules. Shall we start with the rules?"
"Sounds good."
"Have you ever heard of winner stays on?"
"Yes, I have. If you win you get to keep playing right."
"Yes, and that is the rule of this tournament, the rookie cup, which normally runs 24/7. You will have to face 6 fights back to back without losing. It is meant to simulate fighting the waves from the gate. Lose one and you have to reapply and start from the first fight. Getting it so far?"
"Yes."
"The six fights are made up of three against other challengers and three against creatures. It alternates between the two. When fighting other challengers, you are not allowed to kill and guns are not allowed, not that anyone would be willing to waste them on something like this. However, against creatures, you may be killed. Are you prepared for that?"
It all sounded interesting to Luke and he now understood why they let people in to fight the arena. With this, they could easily find people who could help them deal with gate openings. "Yes, I'm prepared." Luke hoped he wasn't being overconfident but he wasn't going to turn back now.
"Lastly to enter the arena someone has to vouch for you. Who is your sponsor?"
"It's Julius."
"That is a first. In that case, we will set you up in the contest as soon as the gate is closed. Shouldn't be long now." At that moment Luke got a notification.
*ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED*
[Survivor] Hidden Silver Achievement unlocked for Surviving an opening for the first time (+2 to All Stats)
"Yes not long at all," Luke responded.