"Optimal body weight reached, commencing stage two of tutorial"

Kai nearly jumped out of his skin in fear, after all, it's the first voice he's heard other then his own since he got here. As he scrambled up, his eyes shoot open and he sees... no one. What he does notice though is that his room has changed. No longer is it the same empty, padded white room with bright lights, now it is an near empty, padded white room with bright lights...and a mattress.

"Oh my god!" Kai cried out as he practically threw himself onto the mattress, pure ecstasy reaching the deepest depths of his soul as his sore back touched the heavenly soft mattress. In fact, he is so overwhelmed he doesn't even care about the strange smell of the mattress or the fact that whatever the voice was thought that he was too fat to deserve a mattress, the gall.

After rolling on the mattress for an uncounted amount of time Kai finally lied still and realised something.

"What...what was that voice?" Kai murmurs to himself as he stroked his chin, as if trying to make himself smarter...

It doesn't work.

Everything was just too confusing. He was supposed to be terrified, yet for some reason he felt fine. Whatever was going on was way too strange for him to fully comprehend.

So he just didn't try.

After a few moments of brainstorming possible ideas, all of the ideas crumble as he heard the voice again...the only problem is that there is no one there.

"Stage two of tutorial will consist of mandatory training. Stage two will commence in 24 hours"

"H...huh?!" Kai panicked as he heard the voice without a body, all his brainstorming left him with two conclusions. There's is a speaker hidden behind one of the pads...or the voice is inside his head.

I would rather not be going crazy, but that voice wouldnt be the worst to hear if I was... Kai inwardly sighed as he shook his head. After a few minutes waiting to see if the voice will speak again, which it doesn't, he's left with only one option.

Enjoying his brand new mattress.

**********

Waking up with a yawn, Kai sat up on his mattress without a sore back, happy after his first proper sleep in... a long time

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Since the boy decided to sleep he's lost track of time, so he has no idea how long is left until 24 hours are up. So Kai does what he does best.

Procrastinating.

After another hour of enjoying the comfort of his mattress he forced himself up with a game plan. One last workout and another nap before...whatever will happen. After all, who knows if he will keep his mattress afterwards.

After a few stretches, Kai started with some sit-ups, doing one hundred and twenty. Then he moves onto twenty-five laps jogging around the room, followed by a 10 minute break where he gulped down the water from his water bottle. And for the big finale, he managed to do sixty push-ups without stopping once.

Feeling content but tired, Kai trudged over to his new best friend and tucked his legs into his chest, falling asleep nearly the insant his head hits the soft fabric.

**********

After waking up and nothing being changed Kai can only assume the 24 hours aren't up yet. So he decided to be patient and wait...and wait...and wait.

After waiting for what Kai thought to be an hour, he decides to do some more sit-ups, but gets stopped by the voice entering his ear once more.

"Commencing stage two. Stage two will pair you with another earthling based on your fitness, ability and IQ. Commencing pairing."

After the voice finished speaking, a bright light eerily similar to the one he saw when the sky lit up blinded him. Only after blinking a few times he can see again.

And what he sees is incredible.

Around him is still a padded white room, only now it isn't empty as empty as it once was. In the two corners in front of him are two beds, not a mattress on the floor, actual beds with two pillows each and a duvet.

Turning to his left slightly, what he saw makes him think all the exercise was worth it. A bathroom complete with a shower, shampoo, deodorant, shower gel... two tooth brushes...womens body wash...

Gulping slightly, Kai turned to his right and saw a woman who looks to be around twenty watching him, as if trying to peer into his soul. Kai shivered slightly and looked back, trying not to feel embarrassed by the woman's intimidating gaze.

The woman had short black hair, cut around her shoulders, and deep blue eyes, as if trying to hide away an ocean in them. She had tanned skin and looked to be Arabian, but Kai doesn't want to assume anything.

Kai then realised she must've been watching him gawk at all the things in the room like a child at Disney world, so he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Uh...hello?"

After a few moments silence in which it looks like she is thinking, the woman finally opened her mouth, only to respond with a blank tone.

"Hello"

Trying not to look like an idiot, Kai said.

"My name is Kai...ser...what's yours?"

Kai only decided to lie about his name last second as a precaution, who knows what's going to happen to them after all? He's seen Maze Runner, he knows what could happen in this situation.

The dark haired woman hesitated for a few seconds, as if she knew the person before her isn't being truthfull. Finally the beauty answers with.

"Noelle"

"So Noelle... any idea how long have we been here?" Kai inquired innocently, hoping she actually had a decent idea and counted, unlike him who was an idiot at the start.

As Noelle opened her mouth to answer, she is cut off by the sweet voice of...whatever the voice is.

"Commencing stage two. Stage two consists of seven hundred and thirty hours of training based on your innate ability. Innate ability unlocked. Status screen unlocked. Bloodline unlocked. Skills unlocked."