In a large gathering hall, Alex stood on the podium Evan on her left, Anthony on her right. There were no seats, and neither was there a microphone, the hall was bare, only an illuminating light overhead. Despite the lack of external amplification, the hollow silence ensured even a pin drop would resound across the vast hall.
The department heads, Evan and Alex were abreast as they faced the congregation from the elevated platform. John was at the center of their formation: positioned a step in front of them, he embraced his position as their impromptu leader.
Males and females of ages seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen faced the podium with varied expressions. Some were eager, others anxious, and a few appeared annoyed, but if one thing was common among them, it was the awareness that the illusion of peace that they had ensconced themselves in was cracking. Their macabre reality seeped deeper into their minds as the sky darkened.
No matter how nonchalant or confident they seemed, they were not fools. They may not have encountered the foes of this stage yet, however, that only served to amplify the foreboding stirrings within them. Some of them had witnessed the horrifying deaths of their age mates; they were all smart enough to know when to control their emotions and adapt. They knew the consequences of mediocrity. They had seen those who were not wise enough die after all. Therefore, they did not allow themselves to easily become complacent even when it appeared that all was well which is why they allowed John to act as the leader without complaints. They needed coordination to subdue the threats ahead. That is what the majority of them believed anyway.
"Thank you all for your attendance. The department heads and I have come to a decision."
John paused, drawing out the silence, hoping to indicate the severity of the situation.
" We need volunteers. There are three available positions: fighters, scouts, and guards. You can inquire about the details of each of these positions with any of those on the podium. I say 'volunteer', however, participation is mandatory. Anyone who feels like they're not interested and has not chosen a position within thirty minutes will be chased out of the base."
As expected, murmurs erupted as John ended his announcement.
"What?"
The girl who formerly disrupted their advance to the base with her broken toe was seething.
"Who do you-" She abruptly paused, gawking at the two muscled youths who now stood at either side of her.
" Is this a threat?" Her voice was quieter now, her eyes pierced into John's.
"Do you still have complaints?"
John's voice lacked emotion or warning, it was neutral. He was fulfilling his role splendidly, reciting every word the way Alex had advised.
"No." She responded through gritted teeth. A bitter frown remained on her face as she eyed everyone on the podium.
The crowd hushed, shocked at the turn of events. The few who harbored thoughts of rebellion swiftly squashed the idea. John was serious. The smart and hardworking ones did not see a problem with John's decision, in fact, they wholeheartedly supported it.
As John prepared to speak again, a ding resounded in their heads simultaneously. Another icon appeared in their vision. At the bottom left corner, there was now a small circle with bright green as its dominant color.
'It's finally starting. Let's see if my worries were unfounded. ' Alex was somewhat excited. She was itching to explore her physical enhancement to the fullest.
Following the ding, two words could be heard within the minds of those present, the voice sounded like that of the purple mouth-less bear.
'Expand interface' Alex repeated the bear's words inwardly.
At that moment, a rectangular map blocked most of her vision, she attempted to touch it but her finger did not go through, it indeed became tangible. She felt she could decrease the entire map's size and zoom in or out.
That would be for later though, as a notice just appeared in front of the map.
|Notice|
[ Challengers, you have an hour to prepare for the first battle.]
The moment she finished reading it, the text was replaced.
[ Your current base: The Underground Nest]
[Requirement: Send out at least 25 people to participate in the battle before the stipulated time. ]
[ If not, all challengers inside the base will be ejected. Please note the entrance to your base will be locked at the stipulated time whether you are ready or not. ]
With that Alex had a clear vision of the map once again.
The map currently displayed a large green dot partially covering a downward flight of stairs icon. Not too far away were multiple red dots littered across the sand. If the bunker was the North cardinal then a tree would be the East, a maze the West, and a castle the South. The origin point would most likely be where they had initially started the stage.
Seeing this, Alex's lips nearly curled into a grin.
' This is great. Collapse interface.'
She looked to the side and noticed she could only see their expressions and not what they were staring at. She wasn't done exploring the interface and had only wanted to confirm this little detail.
'Open interface.'
Above the map, there were two words
[Shop] [Progress]
She checked progress first by tapping on the word.
The map disappeared, replaced by a new screen.
[Progress]
Spirit shards: 10
[Stage 1]
Zombies killed:0
'Hmm… Does everyone have 10? I'll ask Evan. These spirit shards will probably outlast the stage. Good to know. ' Alex mused.
'Collapse interface.'
Everyone seemed to have rounded up with their investigations of the new, interesting additions.
The facade of safety was thoroughly shattered. Alex could hear its final cry in the deafening silence around her. Reality had slapped many in the face. There was no such thing as safety, not anymore.
Alex held back a laugh as she watched those around her. Their expressions were extremely comical. Terror, anguish, disgust, despondence, the list could go on, however, Alex now had an idea of what was ahead and she did not want to stick around any longer.
" They're still waking up guys, how about we go get the weapons."
Although the tone of her voice told of slight amusement, her expression remained blank.