A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I looked at him. It was pointless to even try to explain what had happened, especially since no one would believe me.
But there was one thought that bothered me - why had I been chosen to enter that room, and for what purpose?
But I pushed those thoughts away for now. There were more pressing matters at hand.
Suddenly, the sound of bells filled the air - a melodic tinkling that signaled the start of the event.
Ding ling ling*
the bells seemed to dance on the breeze, signaling everyone to gather at the cnter of this town.
Then all the contestants gathered in the middle.
As I stood amid the crowd, the symphony of murmurs washed over me like a rogue wave in a stormy sea. The cacophony was enough to set even the most resilient nerves on edge.
Rain began to fall onto the cobblestone streets, each drop echoing like tiny drumbeats in my ears. The chill that accompanied it slipped through my clothes and settled into my bones, but I barely noticed.
"A piece of advice," Jack's voice cut through the noise, "Stay focused. If you lose your concentration, you’v lost."
His words added another layer of frost to the cold, rainy day as we stood amidst the sea of opponents, all greedily eyeing one another.
“The same goes for you.” I responded
————————————-
(Third POV)
The rain began to fall, mixing with the melancholic hues of the town, creating a bleak and forlorn atmosphere. The ground beneath the contestants turned to mud, and the dampness clung to their clothes, making them shiver against the biting wind.
The bells ceased their song, and in the ensuing silence, a hush fell over the crowd. A figure stepped forward, cloaked in darkness, their face obscured by a hood. The silence was deafening as they spoke, their voice echoing through the damp air.
"Welcome, contestants. You are among the best of the best in this testing ground, labeled 10e10829^32. It is the honour of the Alena family to host the testing grounds in the Eden sector this year. The rules of the contest will be explained in a second. We hope you have a good time! ”
A blue interface suddenly appeared in front of each contestant's face, displaying the rules of the contest.
It didn't take long for everyone to understand the instructions…After all, there weren’t much they had to read.
It was a simple test, all they had to do was to escape from this peculiar town that they were teleported to.
The contestants all exchanged wary glances, wondering if they had read it wrong. Was it possible to be this simple?
None of them wanted to be the first to test it out.
As time went on, restlessness spread among the group. Everyone began to dream about what rewards they might receive if they were the first to complete the test. What kind prize would it be? A weapon great enough to annihilate planets? A lantern that can fulfill your wishes? Even Teron couldn't help but feel a pang of greed, but he suppressed it and simply observed the others' behavior.
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And so it began.
The first contestant broke from the pack immediately, agile as a fox fleeing the hounds. A hush fell over the crowd, anticipation heavy as a storm cloud. The contestant darted down a side alley, every footfall resonating against the cobblestones until he was out of sight and only his footfalls remained.
After seeing that no harm befell him, others followed suit and began preparing to run. Some hesitated, showing self-control and realizing that something might be amiss. They listened as more contestants rushed towards the exit.
But then there was silence.
A moment passed, then two. And then, without warning, a deafening explosion erupted on the west side of town, where the contestants had disappeared to.
A plume of black smoke snaked into the stormy sky, as if trying to escape the grim spectacle below. The remaining crowd gasped and flinched back as if struck. The reality of the predicament seemed to crash down upon them like a tidal wave.
"You see," Jack's voice was cold and vacant as he watched the black smoke rise towards the heavens. "That's what happens when cockiness replaces caution and reasoning." His icy blue eyes met mine. "It's not just about who goes first... It's about survival."
Teron nodded, agreeing with him.
There was no way it was this simple.
As the shock of the explosion still lingered in the air, a chill settled over the remaining contestants like a heavy shroud.
There were some like Teron and Jack, who were relatively calm despite also being startled by the explosion. However, they were few in number. The rest were shocked beyond belief.
However, there was one common feeling among all of them: they were glad that they had not gone along with those people.
Amidst the eerie silence that followed, Jack's voice cut through like a sharp blade. "We need to be strategic about this. There's more to this test than meets the eye."
The group of people still in the town square slowly recovered from the shock of their unexpected situation and began to disperse. They were, after all, still among the elite in this training grounds, with even the weakest among them holding a mid-level rank. They were not so fragile as to crumble under this. Each individual quickly regained their composure. Seeing how the test wasn't so simple, they set out in search of clues to aid in their escape.
Teron and Jack did the same, they first decided to head heading to the site of the explosion at the west border to investigate the cause of the bomb. perhaps, it was an isolated event. If so, they could simply leave right now.
Teron's eyes burned as he surveyed the site of the explosion. The air smelled of burnt flesh and something else--something metallic. Searing heat still radiated from the epicenter, singeing the hairs on Teron's arms.
He could hear Jack beside him, breathing heavily, their breaths intermingling with the charred fragments of debris that filled the air around them.
They began their search for clues amidst the detritus and ruin.
The landscape had been ripped apart by an explosion, leaving a gaping hole that resembled a festering wound on the earth's surface. The trainees had fled to the West side, seeking the closest border to their village. It was the fastest route to escape. But unfortunately, all that did was accelerate their demise. the explosion that had occurred at the West border was not a one-time event; after all, the explosion took place at the very edge of the western border, meaning that it had been triggered just when all the people crossed the border, preventing anyone from crossing over. It was strategically placed to keep people from leaving, and if their theory was correct, it would happen again if anyone tried to escape.
Among the wreckage, body parts were strewn in chaotic disarray.
Teron swallowed hard, forcing down his rising bile.
Though he was no stranger to bloodshed and killing. He couldn't shake off the fact that he was just 18, barely an adult.
He reached out a shaking hand to sift through the rubble. His fingers brushed against something strange--not coarse like stone or slick like blood and offal, but cold and hard.
"A metal fragment," he muttered, holding it up to catch a glint of light on its jagged edge.
Beside him, Jack exhaled sharply. "From what?"
Teron turned the piece over in his hands, examining it closely. "I don’t know," he responded bleakly.
They continued to look around. But after a while, unable to find any clues, he and Jack ventured deeper into the blast zone, hoping they would find more answers than questions.