A beam of light emerged from a tall building in the centre of Privis. Small, but the light itself was blinding. A figure could be seen when the light dissipated. But once again, nobody could make out who it was.
"Good day, Privis! And a special time to the players as they enter the next round! Now then! Thirteen players are around the area, anxiously awaiting just what today's challenge is! So, without further ado, I'll read them out!
Alison Saylor!
Allan Reeves!
Blair Vollom!
Elijah Davis!
Evelyn Bryce!
Gabriela Pereira!
Ivan Thornton!
Janet Felloni!
Latrell Green!
Leon Chai!
Mateo Gaspar!
Travis Wyatt!
Ulysses Morris!
And just so you know, you may consider today's challenge a little extension of the last one's conclusion. Today is devoted to the five of us, who you'll be going up against. Your challenge is simply to survive throughout the city."
Four more beams of light were set off next to the host, and four more figures emerged.
"Now then, you'll be dealing with my four friends here. I will be staying on this building. So, if you get to this building and impress me with your new powers, I'll end this game. This is one of a few times I'll let a game conclude without a death. Now then. Begin!"
The four figures jumped from the rooftop. One leapt recklessly, clearly ready to get into the game, and one dropped.
Leon looked at the building the host was perched on. She looked over to see if anyone was nearby. And there didn't seem to be. Leon decided then he needed to get to the top of that building. He quickly looked around for anything that could give him an advantage for the confrontation with her. He noticed the staff of a small corner shop looking outside at the carnage, but the lights were still on and the door was still open. So he snuck past them and entered the small store. He noticed a bunch of cheap cans of soda and grabbed a bunch of them, running past the shop and hoping nobody noticed. He shook the cans, ready for his confrontation.
When he ran into the street, he saw Elijah and Travis. Travis clutched Elijah's wrist as he tried running in a different direction, and he dragged him to Leon.
"Leon, you got a plan?" Travis yelled.
"I got one!"
Allan's voice rang out, the verbal equivalent of a glass bottle shattering in your face.
"No. You fuck off." Elijah replied through gritted teeth, loosening his grip from Travis.
"Hey, hey. I know I tried screwing you over in act one. But I know the quickest route through the backstreets to the building she's on."
"Sure, let's go." Leon replied.
"You know he-"
Travis put his hand over Elijah's mouth before he could decline.
"Just tell us where to go."
Allan tried moving them away from the main street, towards the same alleyway Leon saw the deal on. But before they could start the trek, the world around them suddenly turned hazy. Just like two days ago at the school.
"Oh, what the fuck is this!?" Elijah yelled.
A man stepped into the arena. Blonde, with hair that went down to his shoulders. Decked out in a mint green hoodie with what looked like a panther on it.
"Good day, players." He said calmly, with a smug aura radiating off him. "My name is Halford, and I would like to observe your abilities.
Allan looked to his three teammates, taking a step back.
"Yeah, I think I should get going. I'll try to get help now that I know he's here."
Allan sank under the ground in a flash, and Elijah swore more at this.
"Now, because you three are promising individuals, I'll let you in on a little secret." Halford calmly. "My ability is purely meant to be used defensively, so I'm probably in the worst position out of all my companions. But anyway, try showing me your powers."
Elijah ran up and landed a punch to Halford's face. He flashed the palm of his hand, and a second barrier appeared from it. It quickly expanded, throwing Elijah back where he was before the attempted attack. Leon tried using his abilities to catch him. The hook quickly expanded and grabbed him, but it bent back in a way his actual arm felt, and Elijah collapsed on the ground. Even if he quickly got up.
Halford was focused on the two, so Travis slowly tried sneaking up on him. He didn't know how it happened, but he turned invisible. He quickly circled around Halford, looking at his back with one swift motion. So as he threw a kick, but his leg was immediately grabbed.
"Invisible man tries attacking from the back. Please try to be less obvious."
Travis too was thrown back, caught by both Elijah and Leon. Leon whipped out one of the cans, looking at the edge of the arena behind Halford. He shook the can in his hand and threw it at him, point blank. But quickly did the same to another can, throwing it at edge and boosting it further. The hook quickly extended and bounced the can further. Halford quickly caught the can in front of him, but the second one quickly bounced off the edge and hit him before he could do anything. Elijah ran up for another attempt at damage, landing a hand on the bottom of Halford's shirt and briefly igniting it. Halford's eyes widened, and he quickly put it out.
"Well, it seems you're at least capable." He said with a soft smile. He snapped his finger, and the barrier disappeared.
"I hope you're able to fight up there."
He sauntered away. Elijah tried landing a punch, but he put another barrier up behind his back.
"Okay, so are we going up there?" Travis asked.
"Or, we go after Allan." Elijah snapped back.
"Woah, what?" Leon asked. "We can deal with him later."
"Look, the games will continue regardless of if we all live tonight. And he'll screw us all over if he gets the chance! So we have to deal with him now, before he gets us fucked over even worse."
"Are you hearing yourself!?" Leon screamed. Travis tried stepping between them, glancing between the two with a nervous expression on his face.
"Why do you keep approaching every question with 'we just beat them up until we win!'? This shit isn't gonna last, dumbass. Eventually, you're gonna have to enter a world where people either talk through their problems or get arrested! Now, are we gonna stop the game like reasonable human beings, or are we still gonna act like shitty teenagers?"
"I'm securing my place!" Elijah snapped back, storming off. Travis gave a hesitant look, but followed him.
Well, Leon just had to impress the goddess himself. He'd survive. All things considered, he's done well so far.