Avali. No last name. A young woman of seventeen years from Estria, the eastern continent. Having grown up in the worst parts of Arako, she had never known anything outside of the torn down slums of her home. That said, merchant city that it was, she had seen and experienced much. Violence of all kinds, the tyranny of the powerful, the fear that came with not knowing whether or not she could survive to the next day, and more importantly, what would become of her baby sister Avaren if she should perish.
That said, Avali could not help but feel on edge as she sat in K team’s living quarters, recalling the moment her life had changed.
It was chance that a Skye traveller had met her. Chance that she and her sister were offered a place in the Ascendant Program. Chance that she even managed to pass the evaluation stage just by climbing those stairs; and yet, she found no joy.
“Did Avaren pass?” This one thought had kept Avali awake throughout the night, and now she was paying the price. Bags had formed under her sky blue eyes, and she had trouble focusing.
Still, she tried her best to listen and retain the information given by the man named Vis who was currently speaking on what she learned was called a ‘holographic screen’. From the back of the crowd, she could see that everyone else was also giving him their utmost attention.
“All twenty six teams will compete in Capture the Flag. As the name suggests, the goal is to steal the opponent’s flag and deliver it to your team’s base. All matches will take place on the same day, that being tomorrow. Due to the limited number of arenas, some will be scheduled later than others. For team K, that will be two o’clock in the afternoon, and you will be pitted against team X.” The red-haired Watcher stated. “For the rules, it will be a ten on ten match without restrictions. The time limit is one hour, and the team with the most flags captured at the end will be deemed the winner. If there is a tie, the match will continue until a flag is captured or one team is unable to continue.”
“Just to clarify, only ten people will compete from each team, and only those who participated will receive points based on their individual performance.” The red-haired man stated. “However, should your team emerge victorious, one hundred coins will be awarded per flag captured. Any questions?”
Many of those in the room looked at one another, some even murmuring. After a short moment, a burly yet short man with a great ginger beard, a dwarf, raised his hand. His ranking was 16,201. Receiving a nod from the Watcher, he then spoke in a thick accent Avali could just barely comprehend. “Do we ‘ecide the team on our own?”
“That is correct. Whether you elect a leader or choose through group consensus, it matters not to us.” Vis answered.
After another few seconds, a bespectacled woman with a splash of freckles raised her hand. She was ranked 36,781. “Can we substitute anyone during the match?”
The Watcher nodded. “Thank you for bringing that up, I had almost forgotten. Each team will have two free substitutions. However, you can make additional substitutions at the cost of losing a flag.”
Happy with the answer, the woman who had spoken lowered her hand and sat back down. At the same time, someone far away from the crowd and at the left side wall raised their hand. It was the beastkin, or at least what Avali assumed to be one. Something told the young slumrat that this fox-tailed woman was different, that she was more than just some human with animal features. On the other hand, the fact that the individual in question was ranked 50,432nd suggested that she really was just another regular beastkin, just much prettier. Perhaps that was how she always stuck around the man sitting beside her. The only person in the room that ranked in the triple digits.
“Since there’s forty of us here and some probably won’t get a turn, how do people who don’t participate in the matches rank up exactly?” The snow-haired beauty asked, her enchanting voice capturing everyone’s attention, even the women. She voiced the unspoken question in their hearts, the one that brought dread to the lower ranking.
“All participants’ progress is monitored. Rest assured, none of your efforts will be in vain.” Vis reassured with a smile.
“Alright, thanks~.” The fox beastkin lowered her hand and laid back against the wall.
Many in the room also visibly relaxed, letting out sighs of relief. Avali was not among them, as she noted how the man did not answer exactly how much was expected of them. For all she knew, the program wanted them to Awaken and become Ego users, something which she would be all too happy to do but unsure if she had the talent to achieve.
Following the fox’s question, no one else had any more questions, prompting the Watcher to end the briefing.
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As soon as that was over, the bespectacled woman would climb up onto the podium to address the room of people looking to disperse.
“Before you all go, can I have your attention please?!” The dark-haired human said in a loud voice. “I think we should go over who should participate right now, and perhaps plan out a strategy for tackling the upcoming match.”
Many nodded in agreement, settling back down into the bedrolls they had slept in the previous night and now used as cushions against the padded yet cold ground. Seeing that she had their undivided attention, the freckled woman continued. “Firstly, given the conditions our Watcher had laid out, I believe our primary objective should be to focus on winning. If the team remains in the top ten, then we will all be able to move on to the next stage.”
Once again, some nodded in agreement, while others seemed conflicted. Avali was in the latter group. She had grown up in what many would call a ‘bad environment’. Looking out for oneself was always the top priority. Giving up an opportunity to others would only lead to ruin.
That said, she was also quite clear of her position amongst the K team. She was ranked 41,652nd, putting her as thirty fifth among the forty in the room. She was not at the bottom of the barrel, but she was close, and ranking seemed to be everything in Black Box.
“So what’re yer sayin’, lass?” The ginger-bearded dwarf asked. “We just go with the top ten ‘ere?”
The woman atop the stage tapped her glasses. “I believe that’s our best option. We should bring out our best if possible.”
“But who’s to say those people are actually the best?” Another person spoke up, that being a young man with seaweed-like hair that hid his eyes from view. Laid on his bedroll with his back turned to the stage, he waved his hand dismissively. “They said the rankings were only based on the evaluation stage. So that means many things could have been missed.”
Hearing this, many of those below the top ten voiced their agreement.
“Yeah, we can’t be sure that the top ten are the best just from the initial evaluation.”
“They said they assessed everything as well. What if someone in the top ten is smart, but not all that physically gifted? This match is definitely a physical one.”
“Who’s to say the top ten can even work together better than the rest? A team has to be able to collaborate.”
The discussion would only escalate from there, the room descending into chaos while the bespectacled woman tried her best to restore some semblance of order. Her efforts were for nought however, as the majority came to their own conclusions. At the end of it all, two groups were formed. The larger of the two, counting fifteen members, were those in opposition to the top ten being the participants, while the other was a group of nine consisting of those in the top ten and those in support of them. The rest were those yet to make a decision, scattered across the room like Avali, the fox woman, the three-digit ranker, and the seaweed head that the slumrat only just realised had a ranking of 5,620, which was higher than the majority of K Team.
“Why did he say all that stuff about the top ten? Isn’t he shooting himself in the foot?” Avali wondered, her eyes narrowing at the dark-haired young man that remained laid down with a faint smile on his lips, completely detached from the discussion.
“A group vote then?” One person from the largest group shouted out, which was immediately shot down by the other group.
“You think that’s going to fly? What guarantee can you guys make that those outside of the top ten can perform better?”
“Then how about we draw lots? That’s fair.”
“And stupid. You going to bet the team’s victory on chance?!”
On and on it went, with more and more people taking sides. A few hands were thrown, and even more insults. Avali was used to this sort of scene. Not a day passed by in the Araka slums where people did not fight over every scrap of food, clothing and whatever else they deemed necessary for survival or simply fancied, and that included other people. That was why she also had dirt smeared on her face, and her hair purposefully kept unruly. That did not change in Black Box.
“People are disgusting animals…”
In contrast to her, the freckled woman still on the stage continued to try her best to placate the increasingly violent crowds. Avali almost felt sorry for the woman, as she genuinely seemed to be trying to achieve the best outcome. On the other hand, she could not help but think that this was exactly the reason why no one can be relied upon except oneself. If you rely on others, you will only be let down.
Sighing to herself, Avali rubbed the back of her stiffening neck. The noisy arguments were starting to get to her, and it was high time they stopped. Someone else also seemed to share her train of thought, as a voice suddenly boomed through the room.
“Enough!”
A figure in the back corner stood up as all heads swivelled in his direction. The man, tall and muscular, stood heads above others as he walked up to the stand. As he emerged from the darker parts of the room, everyone seemed to have noticed him for the first time, especially his grey skin and bald head tattooed with dark markings of what looked to be dragons spewing plumes of fire.
“A greyman.” Avali recognised, noting the not-so-creative name for the upteenth time. It certainly got the point across, but she had always thought that it left out the more important details. Rare in her home city, there were always rumours that the greymen were the first dragonslayers. The blood of the Goliath ran in their veins, while the ashes of their burned country were sunk into their skin.
“I guess it’s no surprise one’s here.” The slumrat thought as she watched the hulking man take the stand, exerting an aura that commanded respect. The bespectacled woman gave him a wide berth.
Avali wondered if his air of authority was partially due to the greyman’s age, sprouting a long white beard like the archmages of magic towers. Then again, his physique rivalled that of an orc or ghorak’s, and his ranking showed a clear 2,050. No one in their right mind would provoke such a being.
“Your talks are getting nowhere.” The greyman said as a matter of fact. No one dared to argue. His pupiless eyes shifted to his left, locking onto the fox beastkin and her companion who remained unmoved. “The strongest warrior shall decide.”
Returning the greyman’s gaze, the tall amber-eyed human did not say a word. Instead, he merely gestured for the giant to continue.
The greyman inclined his head. To Avali, it almost looked to be a sign of respect and thanks, but for what reason, she did not know. What was certain was that the hulking warrior was now in charge.
“Then I, Magor, as the second strongest, shall be the one to decide the team.” The greyman turned his attention back to the crowd, his expression stern and brokering no arguments. “Those who believe themselves strong, step up. I shall judge your worth.”
At this, many in the room visibly blanched.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the ashen-haired beastkin chuckled. “Oh man, this is gonna be good.”