Mayers office was quiet as he sat behind his desk. In his office sat all the overseers from floor one to five.

The overseer from floor five, who had dark brown hair and a moustache, spoke to Mayers. "Mayers, you can’t possibly humour that brat's request right?"

Mayers sighed, "Unfortunately I have no choice. He won the duel fair and square."

"But still, it’s such a ridiculous thing to request. It doesn't make any sense."

Mayers nodded his head, "I have no idea why he would ask for something like this either. But I must fulfill my end of the deal. I made a promise to him."

"But sir," the overseer from floor three interjected. "Is it really okay for us to go along with this? We don’t have to do what he says. He's just a floor one inmate."

An angry fist slammed onto the desk, startling the overseers. Mayers glared at them with cold eyes. "You fools! Do you expect me to lose face? To go back on my word? Don't make me laugh! We men of Arden never break our promises!"

The third floor overseer sighed and slumped in his chair, "Yes sir."

The door to the office opened, and a guard entered.

"Sir, Owen Walters has just arrived outside your office."

Mayers waved his hand dismissively. "Let him inside."

The guard nodded, and left the room. A moment later, Owen stepped inside, accompanied by another guard. His hands were in his pocket, and he had an arrogant smirk on his face.

Owen glanced around at the overseers with sharp eyes. They glared at him, but kept their mouths shut.

"Hey old man," Owen said to Mayers. "I came to iron out the details."

Jones stood up from his seat, furious. "Watch how you speak to the sub-warden, boy!"

Owen glanced over at him, "Was I talking to you?"

Jones was taken aback by his attitude. He gritted his teeth angrily, but a wave of Mayers' hand silenced him. Jones reluctantly sat back down in his seat.

Mayers then turned his attention towards Owen. "So about this, 'gauntlet' that you asked for. I wanted to ask you first why you would ask for something like this. The only way this can benefit you is if you have some ulterior motive."

"And why does that matter? I won the duel fair and square right? You promised me that you would fulfill any request that I have."

"And I intend to keep my promise," Mayers replied. "But I am curious as to why going through this would benefit you."

Owen grinned, "That's simple. You see, I hate to see people act too big for their boots. And the guys from the floors above me are all cocky bastards who think they're all that. All I want to do is knock them down a peg."

Mayers raised an eyebrow, "That's the reason? Is it really so simple? You do realize that you'll be fighting against dozens of inmates right? Are you confident that you can win?"

"Obviously. Among the trash from the lower floors, there aren't any who can even compare to me."

Mayers mouth hung open in shock. He had never met an inmate so full of himself. This Owen Walters was something else.

"Alright, I understand your reasons now." Mayers said. "In that case, let's go over the specifics. First off, we will only allow inmates who sign up for the gauntlet to fight you. The only ones who will be participating are volunteers."

"That's fine. But then I have a suggestion."

Mayers frowned. "And what's that?"

"You’ll reward those who volunteer with a promotion to the next floor. That should increase the number of people who want to fight me."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The overseer from floor four interrupted. "Don’t you dare make demands. Who the hell do you think you are?" She turned her head towards Mayers. "Sir, this is too much. It's unreasonable."

Mayers stared back at her. "You’re right, it’s too much. I can’t just promote people randomly like this."

Owen interjected, "Ah, right I forgot. You’re only just the sub-warden. I guess you can’t make that decision on your own without the warden's permission." He then waved his hand dismissively. "In that case, forget about it then. I don’t want to get you in trouble."

Mayers gritted his teeth as Owen looked down at him with a mocking gaze. His blood boiled, and he glared at Owen. He then cleared his throat, and spoke calmly.

"That youngster holds nothing over me, I can do whatever the hell I want. Alright fine, I'll grant your request. Any of the inmates who volunteer will be promoted to the next floor."

The overseer from floor four shook her head in disappointment. She looked away, not wanting to continue watching the spectacle.

Owen grinned. "Great."

"Now about the fights themselves. You yourself said that you want them to be in a row, with no breaks."

"That's right," Owen nodded his head.

Mayers shook his head. "I don’t know why you would want such a thing, but sure, we can do it that way."

"Good."

"Is there anything else?" Mayers asked.

"Yeah, the rewards for the winner and the punishment for the losers."

Mayers put a hand on his chin as he pondered Owen's words. "What ideas do you have in mind?"

"If I win, I want you to demote all the inmates that signed up for the gauntlet, all the way down to floor one."

"What?" Mayers asked. "You want me to demote them?"

"Yeah," Owen said casually. "I mean I’m from floor one. Do you think that those that lose to me deserve to stay on the floors that they are on? No, they belong right where I’m at."

Mayers fumbled with his hands as he considered Owen's suggestion. It was certainly something that he could do.

"Alright, but! You’ll have to win every single fight for it to be considered your win."

"Okay."

"If you lose even a single match, then that is automatically considered your loss. "

"If you say so."

Mayers frowned at Owen's blasé attitude. "Damn, you’re too casual about this. You do realize that if you lose, you’ll have to face some sort of punishment right? The overseers will surely want to punish you for your arrogance."

"But I won’t lose."

Mayers shook his head at Owen's confidence. He knew that he wouldn't be able to talk sense into this fool.

"Alright, the gauntlet will be held in one week. We'll announce it tomorrow morning. Is there anything else?"

Owen shook his head. "Nah, that’s it."

"Then you may go."

Owen turned to leave and took one last look at the overseers. He could see that they were all glaring at him with angry expressions on their faces. He smirked at them, before leaving the room.

Mayers put his hands together and sighed. "You’re a crazy kid."

***

Owen had overslept, and woke up late that next day. He was surprised to find out that he had been allowed to sleep in. When he arrived at the cafeteria, he noticed that people were giving him strange looks. They avoided him as much as they could, and didn't dare make eye contact with him.

Owen ignored them, and went straight for the floor one food vendor.

"O-Owen?" A measly voice called out to him.

He turned his head and saw Will standing behind him.

Owen smiled, "Oh hey kid, it's been a few days."

Owen smiled, "Oh hey kid, it's been a few days."

"Yeah it has! I saw your fight yesterday, and you’re really strong!"

Owen laughed, "I guess I am, huh? Thanks for the compliment."

Will looked down at the ground, and spoke quietly. "I’m sorry I couldn’t help you back then."

Owen looked at him blankly. "You mean when I fought those floor three guys?"

"Yes. I should have helped you, but I was too scared to move."

Owen shook his head. "Please Will, don’t ever consider joining a fight like that. You’ll just get yourself hurt. Honestly if something like that happens again, I want you to run away immediately."

"But then what about you? Are you going to run away too?"

Owen was silent, unable to answer Will's question. Will stared at him with a worried expression on his face. Owen patted him on the shoulder, and forced a smile.

"I don’t run from fights."

"But why?" Will asked.

"Because my pride won’t let me."

Will fell silent, still not understanding Owen's reasoning.

Owen glanced over at the floor one vendor. The line was empty. "Anyway, have you had any food yet?"

Will shook his head. Owen grinned, "Alright then, let's go grab some."

They walked over to the vendor, and were served their food. They were about to go look for a table, when Isaac and Grace came running up to them.

Isaac stopped in front of Owen, and spoke breathlessly. "Okay, what the fuck."

Grace pointed a finger at Isaac. "Yeah, what he said."

Owen smiled, "Hey guys, it's been a while."

He went and walked past them, and the three of them followed after him.

Isaac continued. "Seriously dude, what is this about a gauntlet? Are you insane? How are you going to fight against so many people in a row?"

"I guess you heard about it already then." Owen replied casually. He sat down at a table, and the others followed suit.

Isaac sat across from him. "I just don’t understand. Why would you want to do something like this? Are you trying to humiliate yourself?"

"Nah." He said as he dug into his food.

"Then what? Is this because you want to show off your strength?" Isaac asked. "Or is this some way for you to try to appease your ego? If not, help me understand Owen."

Grace nodded from beside Isaac. She, too, was curious about Owen's intentions.

Owen finished chewing his food, and swallowed. He looked up at the two of them and said, "Isaac, I need an army."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "An army?"

"Yes, an army. I realized I can’t break out of here alone. I need a lot more people on my side."

"Okay, but how will this gauntlet help you do that?"

"Think about it, when I win this thing, everyone that signed up will get demoted to floor one. Imagine, all those years of hard work climbing up floors, gone in an instant."

Isaac rubbed his temples as he tried to process Owen's words. "Won’t that just get people to hate you though?"

"Yes, they'll definitely hate me. But that's fine. What I want is for them to feel hopelessness. Like there is no more chance for them to become free by climbing the floors. I want them to realize that the only way out of here is by breaking out."

Isaac sighed, "Owen, this is crazy. Do you really think that would work?"

"It will," Owen replied confidently. "I just need to show them that there's hope through me."

Isaac shook his head. "But still, that’ll only happen if you win this thing. With the reward being a promotion up a floor, nearly everyone will sign up for it."

"I know."

"Don’t get me wrong Owen, but the fight yesterday with that floor four guy, you didn’t exactly look like you were dominating that fight. But now you’re not only going to face people like that, but dozens of them all in a row. It seems like an impossible task."

Owen shrugged his shoulders. "I still have a week left. That's enough time for me to come up with some ideas."

Isaac couldn’t help but sigh. This was just so ridiculous to him.

Will, who had been sitting quietly beside Owen, suddenly stood up from his seat.

"I-I think you can do it."

Owen looked at Will, and smiled. "Thanks kid. I appreciate it."

Grace smirked as she leaned forward. "I’ll help you train this week Owen. I want to see you pull this off."

"That's fine with me. I could use the practice anyway."

Isaac felt like he was going crazy listening to them all talk.

Owen then looked at him, "Don’t worry Isaac, I won’t lose."

Confidence filled his voice. Owen clearly had no doubts about his victory.

Isaac scratched the back of his neck. "Honestly dude, I don’t even know what to say at this point. All I can do is wish you good luck."