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Chapter 12

I woke up tired and a little hungover; turns out juma has a back kick stronger than vodka. I wasn't even fully drunk and I'm still feeling it. I looked at my wristband, we were running on about 2 hours left until the start of the next game. Without knowing exactly what I would be facing I was unsure how to prepare. I'd be going in solo, everyone else had been given different times. Maybe that was a good thing. I wouldn't want to get traitor with them in the game. I'm not sure I could handle taking away their lives.

I'd have to look for them afterward. Time moved ever closer to the start, and I grew more and more anxious. I couldn't risk being late, so I made my way to the gate with plenty of time to spare. A large group had gathered there already. It looked like there would be an entire wave occurring at once. I wasn't entirely sure how that would work in terms of watching, would viewers be able to tune into streams of their favorite games? Or would the show cut between exciting moments from various locations? The last 15 minutes ticked down as I was contemplating the mechanisms of streaming multiple feeds at once and still keeping the content engaging. The wristband sounded and the door opened to two different naga guards, these with dark blue scales, unlike Xix and the original ones that had escorted me here. They also seemed a bit bulkier. Were the nagas with different colors also physically different? Or were these just a special case? I kept a mental note to figure it out later, when I wasn' t minutes away from going into a game.

I had been warned and knew better than to try and resist, but others, who had seemingly shown up for the express purpose of assaulting the guards went on the attack. I briefly considered joining them but decided against it. It was too soon, the guards would still be expecting resistance this early into being coopted into the death games. I wouldn't be surprised if there were squads of guards just down the hall, waiting for the call to move in. For the humans part, they put up a good fight, managing to get one of the guards down and taking their gun. Unfortunately, it seems that those guns are DNA keyed to their owner, meaning the would-be rebellion had gained little more than a glorified club. More guards quickly showed up and subdued the rabble-rousers, instead of instantly killing them. It was just as I had figured, guards had been waiting to bring anyone willing to rebel down quickly. Instead, I watched as each had a black card pressed against their wristband. Each one that had the card touch their band had the same thing happen to them. All of their lives were taken away and the guards grabbed them, bringing them to special pods where they were put into a different kind of death game, The Thunderdome, which seemed like a slight modification on the Hunger Games. Only one winner, and since none of them had lives left at that point, only one survivor. There were various weapons spread throughout the map, mostly melee, but there existed also bows and arrows. The difference between it and the Hunger Games, however, as each contestant was fighting in a giant ball with a literal stormcloud overhead. Each contestant had a lightning rod attached to their heads, and it was a battle to see who was the luckiest, or the quickest to finish off the others. It was a brutal execution, but at least if the lightning struck it typically was a quick death. The problem occurred whenever someone survived being struck, as it would take a while before anyone got around to finishing them off. The winner gained enough points to purchase their three lives back if they so chose. I felt bad watching them get dragged away, that could just as easily be me being piled onto a cart and taken away.

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After the snakes had cleared out the offenders, two replacement guards came to take us to the pods. A sense of dread came over me as we came ever closer to the pod. Would it be me chosen to betray everyone? Or would I be the one constantly on guard against everyone? I had gotten lucky in the first game with who I trusted, but I was unsure if it would be possible a second time. Xix was watching as I climbed into the pod, cameras whirring as they floated next to him. He looked at me, and I waved cheekily as I stripped down to the skin-tight boxer briefs we had been provided for immersion. I slid under the gel and did my best to remain calm as the pod initialized, and the game began.

A flash of white light surrounded me, eventually fading away to reveal what looked to be a small medieval age town. I turned around and saw what was presumably my house, having the name Noah Landry inscribed on a wooden plaque above the door. Around the town, I could see others had started to get their bearings, looking around at their new neighbors. Just as I started to open my door to explore my home for the next however long I would be here, a loud clanging sound began echoing somewhere behind a few houses. I went to investigate and found another android waiting by the bell as it continually rang. More and more people showed up until the bell finally stopped. I looked around and counted 11 other people besides myself. The android began speaking.

"This is a deduction-based advanced game. Direct combat has been disallowed except under special circumstances. As an advanced game, each player will be assigned a specific role with unique powers. Traitors will be given a list of roles in the game, but not who holds those roles. It will be up to the traitors to make the correct deductions to eliminate dangerous innocent roles while preventing the innocent from discovering their lies. Your UI will be updated shortly. Make sure to check for special rules should you be unfamiliar with deduction based games. Good Luck, and play to win.

Role: Traitor (Werewolf)

Scenario: You are tired of your fellow townsfolk's happy do-gooder attitude. Why won't they just let you be miserable in peace? They should know better than to mess with a wolf in its den. The last straw was Carol, ironically going around knocking on people's doors and singing. It was July! You couldn't take it anymore, and Carol saw something she shouldn't have as you let your anger get the better of you. You couldn't let that stand, she might tell someone, and then you'd have to leave, as much as you hate the townsfolk, you love this town. Now what's left of Carol is buried in your backyard. You realize something. If you truly want silence, why not make it so no one can make noise again. The others would agree with you, and working together of course you'd be able to kill them off. but you can't risk getting caught. The townsfolk are on their guard now and it will be difficult to kill more than one each night without rousing suspicion. Good luck, and good hunting.

Starting Gear: None

Objectives: Kill the townsfolk.