《The Modern Domain》 Prologue Prologue The man screamed in agony as the machine crushed his arm, pulling him in inch by inch. He tried pulling his arm out from between the two rollers, but its near impossible getting arm out from under 3 tons of force. Panic consumed the man and he forgot to even try to reach for the emergency stop button as he could the rollers crushing the bones in his arm slowly. Men were yelling at him to stop the machine, but the glass case in which he worked and his painful screams were enough to drown it out. He pulled with all his might. But his hand was too close to the roller and it sucked the other arm in, renewing his agonizing screams. Soon men were surrounding the thick glass enclosure, trying to break through with anything they could get their hands on. The man could see blood oozing between the rollers and feel his shoulder being torn out of its socket, slowly. As he was screaming a manager found a key and ran down to the enclosure and unlocked it. He stumbled with the keys and dropped it. Another worker saw what happened and grabbed it, ¡°Hurry up you fool, a man is dying in there!¡± He tried the keys searching for the one which would fit. After a few tries he finally found the correct one but as he opened the door and looked up, the agonizing screams came to an abrupt halt. Running to the machine he quickly switched it off, and found the man''s head had been crushed. His ponytail got caught in the pool of blood and got pulled in with his body. They were too late. ¡°Look what you did you fool! You people always have all the time in the world!¡± He threw his arms in the air.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Now now Andre¡¯, do I need to remind you who you are talking to and calling a fool?¡± The manager responded. ¡°His blood is on YOUR hands! He had two kids, man!¡± ¡°And the company''s insurance will pay them just fine.¡± ¡°You son of a¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence he swung his fist and hit the manager straight on the chin. The crowd turned into chaos as they tried to separate them. Fists flying from both sides as they were pulled apart. When they all settled the manager straightened his suit jacket and ran his hand through his hair. ¡°Meet me in my office Andre¡¯, after you have cooled down. I expect your inclock tag and uniform to be in your arms.¡± Andre¡¯ went to the locker rooms and got undressed, He put his civilian clothes on and folded his overalls. Timothy, a friend of his came over to him. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry you had to see that Andre¡¯, I am really sorry any of us had to see that. He was a good husband and a good father to Jim and Carla.¡± Chapter 1 A cool morning breeze blew the black smoke of the high chimneys into the small apartment. With a cough Luca sat upright. He grudgingly got up and closed the window. He smeared his drool across his cheek and cringed in disgust. He glanced at the Spanish flag in his room his father gave him for his birthday. ¡°Ugh.¡± Kicking his little sister''s leg to wake her up, he left his room and went to the kitchen where his mother was already cooking breakfast. ¡°Good morning Luca, how are you today?¡± He ignored her. ¡°Morning mom, morning Luca!¡± His little 4 year old sister came skipping into the kitchen, planted a kiss on her mothers cheek and went to sit at the breakfast nook. ¡°Can I have an orange juice today mommy?¡± She hopped in her seat with excitement. Ugh, this positivity is nauseating, Luca thought to himself. Can I just get out of here? ¡°Say please, Carla, we have talked about this.¡± ¡°Pleeaaasseeee,¡± She dragged it out annoyingly long. Their mother finished dishing up for them and he took his food to eat on the balcony. As far as he could see there were just factories and clouds of smoke filling the horizon. Pumping toxic gasses into their lungs. His father was somewhere out there, busy working his hands to the bones to provide for them, while he had to sit here and do school. Why can¡¯t I just move out? My friends have done it at my age. 16 isn¡¯t that young in this day and age. The world was turned into a mega factory by a group who call themselves the elite, led by Dr. Chang Jr. Many years ago they took over the world in an economic war and established a global government. But mostly it was Dr. Chang and his circle of trusted advisors who ran the show. Their only goal in life was to be richer than their forefathers, so what did they do? They enslaved the entire population to do factory work and man their spaceships as they harvest gas from other planets to fuel their mega factories here on earth. When Luca finished his breakfast he went back to his room, where he flipped the red DND sign and slammed his door shut. Why do I have to be subjected to what the Elite has planned for my life. Can¡¯t I do what I want? Luca, as a young boy wanted to be a wildlife conservationist as he watched the TV shows about all the animals which once roamed the earth. But as he grew older, he saw the world for what it really was. A dreamkiller. His father, Rodney, was a factory worker. A maintenance mechanic and so that was generally what Luca¡¯s life was planned towards. He hated the idea of being a factory worker, doing the same thing day in and day out, watching everyone around him grow old and miserable about what they were unable to achieve in life. Besides selling their souls to the Elite. No, that is not for me. He told himself. He switched on his computer which booted instantly in the corner of his room and sat down. He scoured the internet for the newest articles on the Virtual World of The Shadow Domain. Oh how he wishes he could play The Shadow Domain. It was everything in a game you could dream of. But to play you needed a GlassOS, which was a pair of glasses which communicated with your brain and pulled you into the virtual world as if you were really there. Apparently you could feel the grass, and smell the air. AND it smelt FRESH, unlike here where it is just smoke and gunk. Streamers and professional players made millions every month and Luca was sure he could achieve it but his parents believed you have to contribute to the world. To which he always said, why give to a world which has nothing left to give back. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Sure, he could become a mechanic like his father and work unearthly hours, but think of all the people he will provide to with entertainment if he could stream his gameplay or partake in professional tournaments. He could already see himself stand in front of millions of cheering and adoring fans. And security guards having to pull off the fan girls from him. He smiled at the thought. Just dreams. And what worth does a dream have in a dream killing world? His parents seem to get in the way of everything, sometimes he hates them for it. I wish I could just do my own thing, just live my own life. Even though the Elite has planned a mechanical future for him, it is not guaranteed as there are no jobs available and always much more experienced people to fill in. What if his dad dies early in an accident or something, what if he has no references? He shook his head clearing it of depressing thoughts and tried to focus on the game on his screen. ¡°Hey!¡± a voice said over the headphones. ¡°How are you today? Ready to slay some noobs?¡± Luca launched the first person shooter game. ¡°Yes sir, ready for some action.¡± ¡°Hello Na¡¯tan!¡± They always called him by his game tag, and a chorus of 3 other voice also greeted him excitedly. He could also see his private messages of his IM program filling up as people started to realize that he is online. ¡°Right, are you taking top or bottom this round?¡± TheBlackKnight894 asked, ¡°I am feeling top, I¡¯ll support you.¡± He bought his weapons through a slew of menus, naturally finding the shortcuts to purchase then at an impressive speed. ¡°Yeah alright, let¡¯s go top.¡± The five players split up and went their discussed routes, TBK on his tail as they aimed around every corner for an early push. Na¡¯tan was a specialized lead assault player and he has gained respect in the position as one of the best players in the country. He was also seen as one of the up and coming talents in the whole of Europe. ¡°On your right,¡± TBK said, focussing his firearm to the right. An enemy player appeared and TBK quickly downed and finished him. Luca saw someone crouch behind a stack of crates and rolled a grenade his way. They took cover and it exploded, sending body parts everywhere. Luca smiled at the killmail showing up on his screen, sending endorphins through his brain. ¡°Na¡¯tan¡¯s still got it!¡± A voice cheered over the call. ¡°Lets go!¡± Another said encouragingly. Luca rushed the bomb site, check all corners, ¡°Bombsite clear. Come now, switch, switch, switch.¡± They ran back to the spawn point and ran past their teammates, as the other three had the bomb and had to plant. Luca scratched his eyebrow quickly and focussed back onto the game. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them switched as well and ran and cut them off through the middle, he was quick enough, engaging in a split second firefight with one, downing him in three quick successive headshots, then switching to his pistol and killing the other. He quickly took out his knife and finished off the first downed player. More cheers echoed on the voice chat. This is what he lived for. The boy searched the underground tunnel, quickly finding the sneaking player who was trying to keep his weapon until the end of the round. Often called ¡®saving¡¯. He snuck up behind him, and finished him with a quick stab to the neck. Victory. As the rounds stats came up there was a knock on the door. ¡°Be right back guys, I''m going AFK(away from keyboard).¡± The pause screen popped up and he appreciated the gesture. ¡ª--------- Luca¡¯s mother, Nadia, opened the door and he could see from his room¡¯s door it was two police officers. He couldn¡¯t quite make out what they were saying, besides ¡°Mr Diez, your husband has passed away in an accident.¡± For a moment his world went into a standstill. He didn¡¯t know what to think. He walked towards his mother, ¡°Mom?¡± Who turned to him with tears in her eyes, ¡°Go to your room son.¡± Her voice was trembling. This confirmed he had heard correctly but did not want to make assumptions. He called his sister from the couch who seemed oblivious to what was happening around her and for a moment he wished for her innocence. ¡°Come to the room Carla, do you want to play a game?¡± ¡°Yeeesss!¡± Her eyes stretched wide with excitement and she yelled and jumped off the couch to follow her brother. Luca glanced back at the door where his mother was now being hugged and comforted by the policemen while her shoulders were shaking. He typed a quick ¡®GTG¡¯ in the chat and left the game, putting on something for his sister while he went to sit on his bed. What felt like hours later, his mother came into his room, her eyes red and swollen. ¡°Children, come sit with me.¡± His sister, who was enjoying playing the game because she was never allowed to touch his computer, complained. ¡°Now Carla,¡± she said sternly with a break in her voice. ¡°We just received some bad news, news which I¡¯m unsure about how to convey to you two. But your father has passed away in a factory accident.¡± Chapter 2 Luca¡¯s world came crashing down. He could feel his blood pressure drop into his shoes and tears shot into his eyes. ¡°What happened mother?¡± He never called her mother, but he was not thinking straight. A chill ran down his back. ¡°I will tell you someday, Luca. For now, you need to know we are going to be okay. Do you understand?¡± She took his face in both her hands. Unable to control his emotions anymore he burst into tears and ran out of the front door. He could hear his mother in the background yelling, ¡°Luca! Wait!¡± But he did not care. He just wanted to get away, to disappear from this nightmare which was forming around him. He ran for miles between the tall factories, looking for anything to calm his soul, a park, something green but all he could see was more and more factories. Looming over him as if they were watching his every move. Their insides were grumbling and had an all new meaning to him. It is them who killed his father, The Elite, the people who forced normal people to do their bidding in this rotten world. His father spent years working for them under horrid conditions, coming home tired with nothing to show for it. He followed the route he and his father walked so many times together, tears streaming down his blackened face from all the dust and smoke mixed with tears on his face. Luca walked for hours, just mindlessly wandering, trying to fight the fact that he is the man of the house now. He has to fill his fathers shoes. As he walked down a dark alleyway, he kicked a ball of paper. Written on it, he saw ¡°WANTED'''' in bold capital letters at the top of it and unscrambled it. It was an advertisement for gamers. GAMERS WANTED!! Are you a gamer? Are you good at shooting your enemies and creating strategies to conquer their kingdoms? Then YOU are the person we are looking for! Apply now at the Blue Bird academy and become part of the gaming revolution. Become a part of The Shadow Domain¡¯s history. Get PAID for playing games. Only apply if you are 16 and over. +34 555 5543 He threw it back over his shoulder, and kept walking through the alleyway. Eventually he became tired and started to head back home. When he entered his home he saw the door was open, neighbors, family and friends have all started arriving to offer their condolences and comfort them. ¡°Here he is, Mister Gamerman,¡± It was his dad''s best friend, Andre¡¯, a tall, muscular, dark-skinned man with muscle bulging from underneath his shirt from the years of hard labor in the factories. He came over and gave Luca a big hug. Trying to sound cheerful he said, ¡°Where have you been? We¡¯ve been out looking for you, Timothy and some others are still out there. Oh that reminds me, I should probably tell them you''re back.¡± He quickly took out his phone and dialed them. His eyes scanned the room, establishing exactly who was at the gathering. His sister was sitting on their mothers lap who was crying into another woman¡¯s shoulder, who he recognized as her sister, Martha. She spotted Luca entering the room and motioned for him to come to her as she was holding her mother. He could hear her sobs of unbelief. Tears shot into his eyes again and the two of them cried into Martha together. A friend of his mothers brought over two mugs of coffee and they all sat down around the dinner table, sharing stories of their father and reliving memories with him. Andre¡¯ speaks of how they always pranked each other at work and how his father was the best prankster in the space. When he finished, Luca noticed a bloodied bandage on his right hand. ¡°Did you get hurt today?¡± He tried not to cry in front of the people again. ¡°Was it the same accident as my father?¡± ¡°Oh this?¡± He held up his hand, ¡°No, this is just a cut I got from the machine I was cleaning. Andre¡¯ thought it best not to tell him he lost his job because he assaulted one of the Elite¡¯s cronies. His mom turned to Andre¡¯. ¡°Do you know how long it takes for the insurance to pay out. We won¡¯t have any income now.¡± And she started to cry again. He looked down at his hardened hands, ¡°That could take up to two years, Nadia.¡± After the conversation goes back and forth late into the night and the people start taking their leave, leaving the three of them alone in the house. He closed the door behind the final guests thanking them all for coming. He went over to the couch and gave his mom a kiss on her cheek, asking her if she will be okay for the night, ¡°Yes son,¡± she gave him a shaky and teary smile. ¡°Come Carla, time for bed.¡± He picked her up and twirled her in the room to which screamed a ¡®Weeee¡¯. Luca stayed up late that night, his mind clouded with thoughts and ideas of what tomorrow might hold. Tomorrow he¡¯s waking up a man, and he was not quite ready for that. The next day he got up early. Luca prepared breakfast for his family and left her a note. Dear mom, I realize I am the man of the house now and need to provide. I will be out the whole day, to look for a job. I have decided to leave school so I can provide for us. Do not worry, it will only be until we can get money from the insurance and then I will return to school. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Love Luca. He found himself between grown men, knowing he has to do the same job as them and enter the world he so very much hates. The world that killed his father. He walks from factory to factory, asking if they were hiring but to no avail. After walking around the whole day, his feet sore, and his body tired, he turns around and decides to go home. And then, suddenly he remembers the flier. He can do this. He HAS to. He could do this. It is a gaming recruitment flier for one of the top gaming academies in southern europe. And he was indeed a top gamer. He smugly thought to himself. He runs back to where he found the flier, he was fit and young. It was only a few factory blocks away and Luca quickly found the dark alleyway. He found it a few paces off from where he threw it away over his shoulder. The recruitment flier was streaked with crumples. He quickly searched on his phone where the Blue Academy was. Motril. That''s about 5 hours drive, and 9 hours by bus. He made his way home quickly and when he got there he climbed the rackety stairs all the way to the top of the building, looking at all the thundering factories around him. Their apartment was part of an apartment block which was placed smack in the middle of the factories with three others. Once at the top of the build he went to sit at his favorite spot. It was an old canopy on top of the roof with a table where he kept two plants he was able to find in this world where nothing survives. They didn¡¯t grow well in the toxic air, but they grew, and he loved them. He sat on an old chair his father gave him and re-read the advertisement. GAMERS WANTED!! Are you a gamer? Are you good at shooting your enemies and creating strategies to conquer their kingdoms? Then YOU are the person we are looking for! Apply now at the Blue Bird academy and become part of the gaming revolution. Become a part of The Shadow Domain¡¯s history. Get PAID for playing games. Only apply if you are 16 and over. +34 555 5543 It was late at night but he thought he might as well try the number as he did not want to go home just yet to tell his mother the damning news of not being able to find a job nearby. The phone rang only twice before a woman¡¯s voice answered on the other end. ¡°Blue Bird Academy, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Hello, is this Blue Bird Academy?¡± The words slipped out of his mouth and he immediately kicked himself for it. ¡°I mean, hello, I found your advertisement in an alley in Madrid and wondering if applications are still open?¡± ¡°Yes sir, they are, and who am I speaking to?¡± ¡°Luca,¡± ¡°Alright, gamertag, name, age, weight and height?¡± ¡°Na¡¯tan, with an apostrophe between the first ¡®a¡¯ and the ¡®t¡¯. My name is Luca Diez, I am 16 years old, I weigh around 63 kilograms and am 1.7m tall.¡± ¡°And tell me, what are your gaming specialities, Luca?¡± It felt strange to him to hear an adult be interested in gaming. ¡°I am a specialist breacher in First person shooters and usually play a rush strategy in Strategy games. I am ranked pretty high for my age in Europe.¡± He felt a little smug saying the last part. ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°Rank 15 in the age bracket of 15 and 39 between the ages of 15-19.¡± Luca could hear her furiously typing on a keyboard on the other side of the phone. ¡°You do know we take only top players into the Blue Bird Academy?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Alright, I will get back to you soon.¡± *click* He sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the drumming and swishing of the factories around him. When he grew tired, he climbed down the unstable stairs and climbed inside through his window. ¡°Good evening mom,¡± he said as he entered the kitchen through his room. His sister was sitting on the living room carpet playing with her toys. ¡°Hello Luca,¡± She greeted friendly. Luca assumed she was not mad at him for leaving early and deciding to put a pause on schoolwork. ¡°Hello mom,¡± he said with a tired sigh, ¡°I went to over 25 factories and could not find a single one willing to even look at me and interview me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said as he hung his head. She walked over to him and hugged him. ¡°No problem Luca, we will figure this thing out.¡± The next day he went around asking at the other grocery stores and food stalls which were dotted between the factories and apartment buildings. After being sent from the next one on to the next one, he decided to try the one he was dreading the most. A big sturdy man owned the grocery store at the bottom of their apartment block, but he hated going there. The man was rude and grumpy, always yelling at his staff and accusing the customers of stealing his products. A few times he has witnessed where the man physically removed clients from the store or threw staff with things laying around. He was also from france so generally the usual customers were not big fans of him either and saw him as an outsider. He entered the shop with a big board hanging on the entrance. Milo¡¯s Groceries. Two store helpers were busy sweeping the floors and cleaning products on the shelf, while Milo was sitting behind the counter while working on the computer. ¡°Sara, why am I counting a different amount to what is shown on the computer? Again?¡± He said ¡°again¡± menacingly. Sara, a curvy woman with a bob quickly scurried over to him to resolve the problem. She counted the money in his hand. ¡°Sir, it is the correct amount shown on the computer.¡± ¡°Are you saying I can¡¯t count?!¡± he yelled at her while she cowered to get away from his booming voice and stature. ¡°Are you saying I am stupid?!¡± ¡°No¡­ No sir,¡± Sara stammered, ¡°But on the screen it shows e$138.20 and in your hand there is e$138.20.¡± He quickly recounted the money loudly and slammed it on the counter. Milo ignored her and she returned to work when she thought he was done with her. Luca vanished in between the rows of products and stayed as low as possible, trying to gather the self-confidence to ask him for a position. He swallowed a nervous ball which had gathered in his throat, and moved out of the row furthest from the counter. ¡°He.. Hello Milo,¡± ¡°What?! Can¡¯t you see I am busy?! Ask one of the staff to help you,¡± with this he peered over his small glasses and he recognized Luca. ¡°Oh it''s you, you¡¯ve been coming here for years, Luca how do you not know where the products are?¡± ¡°I actually came to talk to you,¡± he straightened his shoulders and stood a little taller. ¡°Hmph, fine what do you want?¡± ¡°I was actually here to ask about a job.¡± He was expecting an explosion, but received an uncomfortable silence so he continued. ¡°My father passed away 2 days ago, and I need help feeding my family. I can do cleaning, packing. I have a B in math so I can work with money. I will do anything you need. Please Milo.¡± He saw tears spring in the young boy''s eyes and gave a hefty sigh. ¡°Fine, be here tomorrow at 6am. You will work for e$5 a day as you start out. You will help with cleaning and packing the products, that is all.¡± He emphasized the last part. ¡°You will help customers and if you are late even one day you are fired. Do you understand?¡± Luca could hardly believe his ears and vigorously shook his head, wiping his nose off on his shirt. Back at home, Luca entered the living room. Unable to contain his excitement. He blurted out. ¡°I got a job mom!¡± ¡°That''s great news! Where?¡± ¡°At Milo¡¯s Grocery store. The one where me and Dad used to go to.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± There was concern in her voice, ¡°Are you sure it''s such a good idea? I mean we all know how he treats Sara and Salvador. ¡°Yes mom, I can handle him.¡± He told her, standing up straight. She embraced him. ¡°I love you Luca, always remember that.¡± Chapter 3 The next day he arrives at work excited for the new adventure, even though there was a pit forming in his stomach at the thought of working for Milo. His father hated Milo but supported him because he didn''t want Sara and Salvador losing their jobs. ¡°Ah good, you pitched,¡± Milo said unusually cheerfully. ¡°Sara, bring Luca a branded t-shirt and cap. We will get you sorted with a name tag by tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± she disappeared into the storeroom behind the shop and after a few seconds came with a folded t-shirt and cap in her hands and presented it to him. ¡°Thanks Sara,¡± he said with a smile. She just nodded quickly and returned to work. ¡°Salvador will show you what to do, there are no breaks, no phones and lunch is to be eaten in 5 minutes. You leave at 7 pm and you all me sir. Understood?¡± Gritting his teeth at the thought of the long hours he said ¡°Yes sir,¡± and followed Salvador when he beckoned him. ¡°Alright, so this is where the canned foods are stored, I know you know the store but will show you everything just in case.¡± He showed him around the store, where the mops and brooms were stored and where to go for lunch as Milo did not like it when they were in store when they were eating. Afterwards he set to work sweeping the floor before Sara mopped it while Salvador was busy helping customers. Salvador finished helping the customers and was called to the back by Milo, and Luca could hear Milo yelling at him about something he misplaced. There was an argument and the suddenly a loud slap. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever talk back to me or you will walk out of here without a job!¡± Milo exited the backroom first followed by Salvador after a while. He was holding a cloth to his lip and Luca could see red fingerprints on his cheek. ¡°Did you finish sweeping, Luca? I can use your help in the storeroom quickly if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Salvador asked. Following him, Luca could not keep his eyes of his split lip and Salvador noticed. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about it, it happens once in a while. Nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡± They lifted fruit from the bottom shelf and moved it to the top shelf. As they were finishing, Sara came into the store and asked Salvador to cover for her as she was just running to the bathroom, seemingly unscathed by the fact that he was just assaulted by the boss. Salvador and Luca entered the shop as two customers entered as well and they quickly went to assist him. A skinny, frail lady with a cane asked Luca if he could help her. ¡°I need some tomato sauce and beans. Please.¡± ¡°Okay, ma¡¯am wait here, I will quickly run and grab them for you.¡± He gathered the products and put them on the till. ¡°Here you go, it will be e$3.¡± ¡°Thank you dear, and she passed him a e$1 note.¡± He thanked her and put it in his pocket. As soon as she was out of the door, he could hear Milo clearing his throat behind him and holding out his hand. He reluctantly dug in his pocket and placed the noted in Milo¡¯s large dirty hand. An alarm went off, signaling to them that the working day was finished, and waited for Salvador and Sara to see what to do now. They stood and waited while Milo counted the money and made sure it amounted to the correct amount. Then, he counted out 3 e$5 notes and gave them each one, and went back to typing on his computer. Ana and Salvador said a ¡°Thank you sir,¡± in unison and left the store. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Luca repeated after them and followed them.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Ana stayed three factory blocks from the grocery and Salvador stayed in the same one as Luca, but Salvador walked home with Ana every night. ¡°Where do you stay, Luca?¡± Salvador asked. ¡°Need me to take you home?¡± ¡°No, I''m staying in this one right here.¡± And he pointed to the tall apartment building behind him. ¡°Oh, cool! Same as me, we''ll see you tomorrow!¡± Luca waved at the duo and climbed into the lift to his apartment. Entering the apartment, he saw his mother and sister asleep on the couch. He placed the e$5 on the counter and went to bed, falling asleep almost immediately. He woke up through the night with tears on his face after dreaming about saying goodbye to his father without realizing he will never see him again, but as soon as he turns around to walk away sees the future but is too slow to reach him, sending waves of sadness over him. ¡ª------- It''s been three weeks since Luca started at the new store and he has received his fair share of write-ups and scolding sessions. But they never seem to go anywhere and even though Salvador must have over a hundred write-ups by now, Milo seems to be just using it as a tool to instill fear amongst his employees and never actually firing them. His latest write-up was when he dragged the mop behind him when walking from one aisle to the next, because it was ¡®sloppy¡¯ and ¡®unprofessional¡¯. Every night he went to bed extremely tired and he could feel his body aching from lifting and carrying the heavy boxes. He hoped it would get easier with time. One day, Luca was busy unpacking beans onto the racks. Milo was in his usual mood, and Luca dropped the tin of beans in front of a customer. This made Milo explode with anger. He immediately ordered Luca to the back of the store. ¡°Is it difficult to pack a can of beans onto a rack?! Do you not focus when you are doing the job?¡± Luca avoided eye contact and just shuffled his feet. ¡°Sorry sir, it was an accident.¡± ¡°Look at me when I am talking to you, child! That is going off your paycheck, maybe that will teach you to focus on the job.¡± That night he cried when he got home, give his mother the only e$3 he received. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mom.¡± He said through sobs. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to drop the can, it slipped, I swear.¡± She held him close to chest, ¡°Hush my son, it''s alright, we knew this was going to happen remember? He is the asshole, not you.¡± He nodded slowly and went went to his room where he cried until late at night feeling hopeless. ¡ª---- Preparing himself for another day of physical and mental exhaustion, he gave himself a speech in the mirror. ¡°You are not doing this for you. You are doing it for your mother and your sister. Your dad is dead and it is YOUR job to look after them. Man up Luca!¡± He splashes water into his and wiped it off with a towel. This has become his morning routine to force himself into the right mindset to deal with Milo and his mood swings. He entered the store with the usual ping from the clock on the door and saw Milo motion for him to come to him. ¡°Come here child.¡± Child. He hated that word and the way Milo said it. ``There are tin cans of beans missing and Sara said you took it.¡± He looked at her but she was looking at her feet. Customers entered the store. ¡°Come with me.¡± They walked to the back of the store and into the storeroom. ¡°Did you take it?¡± ¡°No sir. I just packed them a week ago and they were all in the box sir.¡± Instantly he felt a searing pain shoot through his jaw to his head and fell to the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me little boy, did you take the beans?¡± ¡°No sir I promise!¡± Milo kicked him in his ribs, just enough to leave a nasty bruise. ¡°If you ever do it again, I will kill you, do you understand, child?!¡± He was crying, tears mixing with blood as it ran down his mouth. He bit deep into his lip and blood filled his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it sir!¡± Milo grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet and hit him again. ¡°Stop lying to me!¡± As he raised his arm to hit him again Luca, terrified, screamed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I did do it, I¡¯m sorry sir, please don¡¯t hit me again!¡± Satisfied with his answer, Milo pushed him back to the ground and left him on the cold tiles. Luca sobbed, Dad please come back, I can¡¯t do this without you. After work as he went to enter his lift, he felt a hand wrapping around his arm and spun around. ¡°Sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you.¡± It was Sara. ¡°I swear I never said anything about you stealing a tin of beans.¡± Luca looked at her and then pulled his arm out of her hand. He walked into the lift and faced her, tired from the day''s traumatic experiences. ¡°I know.¡± Chapter 4 Nadia burst into the shop door, ¡°Where is he?! Where is that rotten piece of shit?!¡± She yelled at Salvador who was busy sweeping the floor. Luca ran after her. ¡°Don¡¯t Mom! I¡¯m telling you I¡¯m fine!¡± She continued down the aisle towards the storeroom. ¡°Milo!¡± She yelled out. ¡°What is this racket?!¡± The big sturdy man came out of the storeroom, cleaning his hands with a cloth. Before he could finish his sentence, to everybody''s surprise, Nadia hit him across his face. ¡°How dare you hit my child?! I will have the police here and your shop closed before the end of the week, do you hear me?!¡± Milo rubbed his face, he had a shocked expression, which was the first time Sara, Salvador or Luca had seen him surprised by something, or anything other than being upset. It quickly turned into pure rage and he lifted his hand to hit her. Before he could make his next move, Salvador saw his intentions and dive tackled him into aisle racks, sending all the aisles falling like dominoes. Salvador was nimbler and faster than Milo, quickly sitting up straight on top of Milo and going to town on the pudgy face with his fists. Sara was screaming for help while Luca was holding onto his screaming mother. Eventually, passerbys heard the screaming and commotion and when two men saw what was going on they quickly pulled Salvador off Milo. Luca saw his face was red with rage.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever hit anyone again Milo!¡± The men held Salvador back and sirens could be heard outside as the motorcycle police arrived. They were taking statements from everyone and when they finished Luca saw Salvador sitting on the bench alone, holding an ice pack to his shoulder. ¡°Can I sit with you Salvador?¡± Salvador gave him a big grin, ¡°Sure big man. What can I do for you?¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked, looking at Salvador''s shoulder. ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡± ¡°I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for saving my Mom.¡± ¡°No problem big man, he had it coming. And between you and me,¡± he lowered his voice to a whisper. ¡°It was actually kind of fun,¡± and he winked at Luca. ¡°Luca!¡± His mother was calling him and he turned back to Salvador. For the first time he recognized lots of scars on his face with short unshaven beard turning grey in some places. ¡°I will see you around Salvador,¡± he waved his goodbyes. ¡°Goodbye big man.¡± Luca didn¡¯t go back to Milo¡¯s Groceries. He and his mom spent their days looking for piece jobs and when they couldn¡¯t find a babysitter for Carla, Salvador would go out with him. They didn¡¯t make a lot of money, but the pressure was much more bearable knowing he won¡¯t be seeing the horrible managers again and he could go back to the ones he liked. He had almost forgotten about the flier and interview call he made so many months ago. But late that night after a day which he would rather just forget, the phone rings next to his bed. Chapter 5 ¡°Hello?¡± He said as he wiped sleep from his eyes. ¡°Hello, this is Isabel speaking, I am looking for Na¡¯tan.¡± ¡°Na¡¯tan?¡± Luca asks, but quickly remembers his gamer tag through his sleep. ¡°Oh yes, yes, yes, that is me.¡± Isabel stayed quiet on the other side for a bit and then continued, ¡°Please confirm your age, height and weight for me?¡± ¡°16 years ld, 63kg and 1.7m in height.¡± He heard the keyboard clicking over the phone as she typed something in. ¡°I am pleased to tell you, you have been accepted for an interview at the Motril based BlueBird Academy. Will you be able to attend an interview in two days?¡± Shocked, he was speechless. ¡°Hello?¡± She asked after a few seconds of silence. ¡°Yes I am here, yes I will be able to attend the interview, thank you so, so much.¡± ¡°Okay thank you, see you in two days time at the BlueBird academy. Bring enough clothes, if you get accepted you will be living here at the academy for five months. Goodbye.¡± And she hung up. The reality took a moment to set in but when it did he jumped up with excitement, laughing and crying, and running to his mothers room. He jumped on her bed and eagerly told her everything about the flier, how he found it and how this is their chance at something good for once. She slowly sat up and tried to force a smile. ¡°That¡¯s great love, and I am proud of you¡­ But¡­¡± He waited to hear the worst. ¡°You can¡¯t go, because we don¡¯t have transport for you to go there and come back if it doesn¡¯t work out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mom, I have some money saved up from all my chores, I counted it and it¡¯s enough to afford the trip down.¡± ¡°And if you don¡¯t pass the interview, how do you get back? You can¡¯t go, there is no way for us to make it work.¡± Luca felt like his world was being turned upside down. The little hope he had left was being crushed. He felt outraged, angry that nothing seems to work out, angry at Milo for hitting him and not being a decent person, angry that his father died. He turned around and stormed out of the room. No, I am not giving up. This is not how the story of Luca ends. This is my chance and it has come NOW. I have to act NOW. He climbed out of bed, careful not to wake his little sister, and went to the dinner table and wrote a long letter. Dear Mom and Carla, I know you won¡¯t understand just like many things I do not understand about the grown up world. But even though you won¡¯t understand, please try to trust me. This is my chance at making it big and changing our lives, maybe forever. I will be back in 5 months and send money whenever I receive something. Love, Luca. He quickly folded it into an envelope and placed it carefully on the counter. He climbed over his sister on the floor and started packing his bags, including a photo of him with his dad and the money tin he put his spare money in. Satisfied with what he had packed, he opened his room window quietly. ¡°Luca? What are you doing?¡± Oh no. Carla. She was sitting upright on her mattress looking at Luca halfway out the window. He slowly climbed back inside. ¡°Go to sleep Carla, it¡¯s okay I am here.¡± Carla lied down again, luckily not fully awake yet and pretty soon he saw her breathing turn into slow restful sleep. He opened up the window again and left, this time she didn¡¯t wake up. He climbed down the stairs and opened the back door into the lobby of the apartment block. It was quiet. The whole world seemed asleep. He glanced at the clock above the lobby''s reception desk. It was 12:30am. Quickly he made his way into the road and followed his phone''s GPS to the nearest bus station. Upon arriving he was glad to see it operating, and singular people were standing around waiting for a bus.He entered the ticket station and went to the nearest booth. There were no people inside except for himself and the booth teller. ¡°Hello, I would like to buy one ticket to Motril from Madrid please.¡± And he carefully places all his money into the money slider. The booth teller was an old lady with tiny glasses resting on her nose. She glanced over them and asked, ¡°Where are you going this time of night son, where are your parents?¡± He grasped for words, ¡°Dead,¡± he stammered. ¡°I am going to Motril to change my life.¡± She looked him over for a few seconds deciding whether to believe him or call the police. He saw her reaching for the phone, and quickly changed his story. ¡°Okay, I lied.¡± ¡°But give me a chance alright? My dad just died and I¡¯m doing this to be able to buy food for my mother and sister at home and get her through school. Please, I need to go. I have no other choice.¡± Tears formed in the corner of his eyes and he quickly blinked them away, remembering himself this morning in the mirror saying, Man up Luca! She put the phone back on the receiver and typing for an eternity on her computer. ¡°Okay,¡± she sighed, one ticket to Motril. She slid the ticket back and when he lifted it up he saw she never took the money. As he was about to tell her about it, she put her finger on her mouth and winked at him. ¡°Shhh, it''s our little secret.¡± Grateful for her kindness, he quickly scrounged the notes and coins into his hand and stashed it in his pocket while taking the ticket and holding it firmly in his hands.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. 1 oclock came and went. 2 oclock came and went. People were standing all around the platform, waiting on the bus to arrive. Finally 3oclock came and he heard a bus grumbling in the distance. He stood up with his suitcase and walked closer to the loading sign. The headlights of the bus lit the platform and came to halt in front of the small crowd. They all boarded in orderly fashion and he saw his seat number next to a girl with sunrise-gold hair tumbling down her shoulders in curls. When she saw him, she smiled a wide smile. He smiled back sheepishly and proceeded to sit next her, stashing his suitcase underneath his seat. The bus seats were an old brown plastic leather and had been sat through, through the years revealed the yellow sponge underneath. Once they were comfortable she offered him some of her gummy sweets and held out the red packet. ¡°Sweet?¡± He gratefully accepted. ¡°By the way, I am Ana.¡± She said cheerfully. ¡°I am Luca,¡± he hasn¡¯t ever really spoken to a girl before in person as they rarely went to school and did most of it online. Socializing children was not at the top of the priority list of the Elite. She held out her hand and he looked at it. ¡°Shake it.¡± He carefully took her soft hand in his and gave it a shake. ¡°Not like that silly, like this.¡± And she shook his hand like they just conducted a business deal. ¡°Oh.¡± was all he could muster. Luckily she didn''t notice his nervousness and continued the conversation. ¡°Where are you off to?¡± ¡°Motril, and you?¡± ¡°Oh my gosh, me too!¡± She squealed excitedly. ¡°I am going to the BlueBird academy to start my gaming career.¡± She hung her shoulders slightly. ¡°That is if I get accepted.¡± ¡°What makes you worried about that?¡± She looked surprised but quickly rubbed it off. ¡°Well, you see, I think it is kind of a fluke that I got an interview in the first place. I am not much of a gamer.¡± ¡°I can teach you.¡± ¡°Are you good?¡± She looked at him skeptically. ¡°One of the best,¡± he replied sarcastically. ¡°Well then I will appreciate it!¡± She responded in the same tone of voice. ¡°So are you also from Madrid?¡± ¡°Yes, I grew up here.¡± She seemed awfully cheerful before what could be a life-changing event. He thought to himself. ¡°Same! Oh my gosh, we are going to be best friends.¡± She squealed again. ¡°Here, have another sweet.¡± He declined, ¡°I think I need to get some rest, it''s been a rough few days and I want to be ready for what we could be facing later today.¡± Luca made himself as comfortable as he could and settled into a restless sleep. He was constantly woken up by bumps in the road and people talking too loudly. Just when he thought he was fully asleep, Ana elbowed him in the ribs softly. ¡°Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty, it''s 8 am and we¡¯re halfway there. We are in Valdepenas. Here, have some coffee,¡± She took out a flask from under her chair and poured him some. ¡°Don¡¯t drink there, I drank from that side.¡± She pointed to the cup. ¡°Thanks,¡± he drank the coffee and looked on as the passengers disembarked from the bus. ¡°Come on slowpoke. Let¡¯s gooo!¡± Without warning she climbed over him and dragged him by his arm. Ana has been here before with her family and she showed him around the town. There were large factories and it all seemed too familiar to Madrid. ¡°I think everyone is just taking a bathroom break and then getting back on the bus.¡± He said. ¡°No, don''t worry! Buses usually take hour-long breaks when they stop. Come I need to show you something.¡± With seemingly renewed energy she dragged him further into the factory forest. They walked for a few hundred meters and she took him down a left, then a right, then a right again. Ahead of him he saw something. The most beautiful thing he has ever seen. In the middle of these gigantic mega factories there was a windmill, with grass and flowers planted around it. On the windmill itself, grew large collections of vines all the way up its white bricks unto the red tiled roof. ¡°Whoa, that''s beautiful.¡± he spluttered. ¡°Well, what are you waiting for?¡± She ran ahead and immediately laid down on the fresh soft grass. After he has taken thousands of photographs in his memory of the beautiful sight, he went to lay down next to her. They looked at the gray sky above them but somehow it just felt different. He was on his way to change his family''s life. He met a lovely new friend and now he was touching grass for the first time in his life. She picked a blade of grass and tickled his ear. ¡°Hey!¡± As he tried to do the same with her, she shrieked, jumped up and ran away. ¡°Come back here!¡± With his weapon of choice, a blade of grass, he followed her as she ran around the tall windmill, laughing and screaming every time he came too close. Once he dragged her to the floor and administered his blade of doom treatment, she had tears in her eyes from laughing and he joined her. Ana caught her breath and said. ¡°Geez, for a moment I thought I''m going to be stuck with a doom and gloom man all the way to Motril.¡± He laughed, ¡°Well don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± ¡°Too late,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°Come, I have to take you to one more place.¡± They ran down the street in between more of the mega factories. ¡°Two more blocks,¡± She yelled over her shoulder. ¡°I promise you won''t regret it.¡± Ahead he could make out smaller houses than the usual tall apartment blocks. In the middle of them was a brightly colored building with a large sign. ¡®Helena¡¯s Icecream¡¯ They enter the colorful building and there was an old lady sitting behind a ice cream display. Luca had never seen such a freezer with so many ice cream choices before in his life. ¡°Hello Ana! Lovely to see you,¡± She greeted from behind the freezer. ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?¡± ¡°Hi aunty Helena! Oh this is Luca! We are on our way to the BlueBird academy!¡± She said. ¡°What can I get you two today, you look so happy and I¡¯d hate to spoil it for you. Today¡¯s ice cream is on me. Ana picked out a strawberry one and Luca chose the lemon sorbet one. They waved their goodbyes leaving the shop and walking to the bus station. Once back on the bus Luca looked at Ana and was once again blown away by her beauty and her cute smile. ¡°Thank you Ana.¡± He said. ¡°Thank you for today.¡± She bumped him on his shoulder, ¡°It is my pleasure! Anything to see you smile,¡± Then she winked at him. Today was one of the best days of my life. They spent the rest of the trip discussing what they were expecting the challenge would be and how it could make them part of the history of The Shadow domain. The last few hours of the trip flew by as he got comfortable around her. He told her about his father and his family, about Milo and Salvador and Eleina. She told him she was the daughter of Madrid¡¯s Mayor. But it was not all that glorifying. She was under strict orders to stay at home at all times because the Elite would kidnap the mayor''s children to get them to do their exact bidding once they step out of line. And her father seemed to have plenty of under the table deals going on, but she did not elaborate on them. She also told him about her grand escape past her father¡¯s body guards to go on this trip as he forbade her to come. But he is not to tell anyone and keep it between them. He crossed his heart and promised that her secret is safe with him. Chapter 6 They arrived at the BlueBird academy late that afternoon, just as the sun started to set over the horizon. The bus had dropped them a few kilometers from the academy and they walked the distance in silence. Nervousness is starting to replace the excitement. The large gray and blue building was built in a castle style, with high towers in each of its five corners. It towered above them as they walked to a giant archway in the middle of the outer walls. Passing through it, there was a large opening in the center with a sign post, pointing them to the correct locations. They followed the reception directions and entered a long dark part of the school with a small desk and tall woman sitting behind it. She had short black hair stopping just above her shoulder and was wearing a black suit jacket and skirt. They approached her. ¡°Hello,¡± Ana said in her usual chirpiness. Her voice echoing off the tall empty walls. The woman looked up and he could see a name tag on her chest reading ¡®Isabel¡¯. ¡°Hello, how may I help you?¡± she said with a friendly and welcoming smile. ¡°We are here for an interview for the challenge. I am Ana, and this is Luca.¡± ¡°Oh! I see now, please fill in this register for me and I will show you to the waiting room.¡± After they filled in the required details she left through a door to her right and they followed with their suitcases. They enter a long hallway with doors on either side of it. They were marked Room A1 - B5. Upon reaching the end of the hall, they entered a large open area where there were lots of people sitting. Luca guessed them between the ages of 15-25. It looked like there were thousands of people. She rummaged through a bin with badges tagged with numbers and handed them each one. Y48 and Y49. ¡°They are now interviewing the letter D so I hope you guys are in for a long night. Feel free to make yourself at home and even sleep a little.¡± They sat down with their suitcases and started looking around. Scattered all around them were suitcases with their owners, sitting in groups or sleeping on them using it as a makeshift pillow. Luca could feel his tiredness set in again and rested his head on his suitcase. Sleep enveloped him and he was sent to a different world where his father came over every evening, and his mother and sister were singing and playing in the living room. An intercom woke him up with a ping. ¡°Please move the benches until all food is placed on their respective tables. Then dish up in an orderly fashion. Afterwards Y32 and Y33 can make their way to the interviewing room.¡± He sat up and saw Ana looking at the speaker which was making the announcement. ¡°How long was I asleep for?¡± ¡°Hey! Only a couple of hours. People have been getting rejected and leaving in droves. I am getting kind of nervous.¡± ¡°Well, we are here now, if we get rejected we go back to our shitty lives. At least we had a good day right? ¡° He smiled at her. Amused at the positive words coming out of his mouth. The waiters finished bringing the food in and a queue had started to form as they were dishing up. The room came alive as everyone woke up and started talking. The crowds have reduced in numbers and they were quickly in front of the queue. He looked at all the variety and couldn¡¯t believe they were eating so well. There were many items he had never seen before and Ana laughed at all his questions. Eventually he settled on a banana, apple and a large piece of steak and a sausage. They ate their food and put their plates back. The intercom pinged again. ¡°Y46 and Y47. Please make your way to the interviewing room.¡± ¡°We¡¯re next,¡± Ana said, ¡°What if we¡¯re not good enough. What if we are not what they are looking for.¡± ¡°Then we were not meant to be here Ana. Please. Relax. It will work out in the end.¡± But even he was nervous and he had no way to get back home tonight if he did not make it. He quickly removed the thoughts from his head. ¡°It will be fine.¡± He put his hand on hers and she smiled at him. The door opened and both Y46 and Y47 came out crying. With a ping the intercom read out their numbers. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Okay,¡± Luca said, ¡°this is our big moment.¡± He took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t make it Luca. At least we know each other now right?¡± She had tears brimming at the bottom of her eyes. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s go.¡± They were greeted by a large bookcase standing against the back of the room and a large wooden desk in front of it. It was an ancient dark brown. Behind it, sat a colossal man with enormous hands which could probably wrap around my head. ¡°Welcome.¡± He had an air of authority around him. ¡°Hello sir.¡± They responded together. ¡°Please, have a seat.¡± He didn¡¯t even look up from his paperwork. ¡°Gamertags?¡± Luca glanced at Ana as she went first. ¡°thePinkmachine, sir.¡± Luca said his gamertag, ¡°Na¡¯tan. Sir.¡± He looked up from his paperwork for the first time, studying Luca for a moment and then continued writing.¡± ¡°Ah, Na¡¯tan. Hmmm.¡± And he made what looked like a checkmark on his paper. ¡°Prefered position in a squad in MOBA¡¯s and MMORPG¡¯s? Ana?¡± ¡°Support and tank sir. I¡­¡± she was cut short by the man. ¡°Luca?¡± ¡°Carry and DPS sir.¡± It seemed like for every answer he filled in hundreds of lines. ¡°Okay, you are both accepted, please make your way through the next door.¡± Ana and Luca sat in shock for a second too long and the man cleared his throat. He looked up at them and motioned to the closed door to his right. ¡°Yes sir, thank you sir.¡± They quickly gathered their belongings and went to the next room where a young man was waiting for them. He was dressed in a black suit and had an earpiece. ¡°Hi I am Alfonso, I will show you to your rooms and then tomorrow you need to be back in this room at 8am sharp. When they arrived at their rooms, Luca saw two bunk beds propped to the side of the wall. ¡°Its foldout beds to save space and underneath you will see there is a cabinet which opens and transforms into a desk for theory studies. Unfortunately it seems like your roommate did not make the cut so you will have a room for yourself.¡± he gave him a professional nod, as if he was content with how he delivered the information. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ana and Alfonso left and Luca stood alone in the small room. When he pulled out his bed, he saw there was a shirt on it. It had baby blue stripes on, bordered with white lines and was printed on a black shirt. It also had logos with all the school''s sponsors on. He packed away his clothes and belongings in the closet and placed the framed photo of his father and himself on a cutout in the wall. Laying late into the night he thought about father and his family and how lucky he was to be here. I will succeed. He woke up to the sound of a siren going off in the hallway. ¡°All students, you have an hour to get ready and then meet with the Dean in the food hall.¡± He jolted upright and made his bed. Entering the food hall he saw Ana sitting with someone else at one of the tables and joined them. ¡°Good morning,¡± He said cheerfully. ¡°Ready for the first day? How did you sleep?¡± ¡°Oh hey Luca! I made a new friend, this is Carlos. Carlos, this is Luca I¡¯ve been telling you about!¡± He looked much older than them and was a bit more chubbier. Luca nodded to him and said. ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°So back to your questions, yes so ready, and I slept well. Carlos said he¡¯s heard rumors that we are going to be using a different kind of system than the glasses that are available to the general public.¡± ¡°Oh really, what do they say?¡± Carlos looked shy, and didn¡¯t like the attention of the other two on him. ¡°No, that is all I heard.¡± ¡°Well I guess we will hear more today from the dean. Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± Ana chirped reassuringly. After breakfast they went to put their plates on the table and Carlos bumped into a short but muscular boy. ¡°Oh sorry, I didn¡¯t see you there.¡± He apologized. ¡°Better say sorry, watch where you¡¯re going fatboy,¡± the short guy lipped back. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s unnecessary!¡± Ana retorted. ¡°Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it, Skinny-legs?¡± he said, getting up in her face. ¡°Whoa, chill guys, this is going way too fast. Let''s just take a breather. We¡¯ll go this way, you go that way.¡± Luca laughed it off. The boy turned to him and said sarcastically. ¡°Who are you to tell me what to do. I might want to stay right here.¡± Luca could hear snickering from his three cronies behind him. He could see this cocky boy was looking for an altercation and tried to defuse again. He never saw himself as a fighter, and quite frankly had no idea how to fight so didn¡¯t want to be involved in one, not on his first day. ¡°Look. He said sorry. We¡¯ll walk away now and you just do whatever you feel like alright?¡± The trio turned to walk away when Luca felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him around. Before he could get his arms up to defend himself, he felt another fist make contact with his face. He tried to blink away the pain while holding his face. He looked up and saw him pulling back his arm and hitting Carlos in the stomach, who bent over and started coughing. Ana screamed and started hitting the thickset boy. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll play. Hey! You want to do this?¡± Remember, don¡¯t but your thumb under your fingers. He could hear his dad saying to him. ¡°What are you going to do? Hit¡­¡± As he was getting out his response, Luca punched straight for his nose, feeling a crunch under his knuckles. The onlookers have now started forming a circle around them, chanting and cheering. He wiped his nose and looked at the blood on his hand. ¡°Numwit. You will regret that.¡± He punched at Luca¡¯s face but he blocked it and caught the blow on his arm, he tried retaliating with his other arm but was blocked easily. Another blow came from underneath and he was too focused on blocking the first one to realize and felt his teeth clench together as he hit him on his jaw. Another blow came from the right, hitting him on his head and then a knee made contact with his face. A flurry of punches and kicks rained down on Luca as he was bending down covering his head. ¡°Stop! Just stop!¡± He could hear Ana screaming in the background over the crowd. Just then, the door leading to the kitchen opened. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Chapter 7 Alfonso entered the room and a silence fell over it. ¡°Stop this immediately, Y47 and B5, come with me immediately.¡± Looking at him, Luca saw he wasn¡¯t the only person who saw him cowering in fear. Behind him stood the dean but he seemed oddly amused. ¡°So, I assume there is no wondering about why you two are here in my office?¡± The burly man spoke from behind the desk. ¡°No sir.¡± Luca said, and B5 shot him an ice cold look. ¡°Jose?¡± The dean reiterated. ¡°No sir.¡± He finally spoke. ¡°Good, we will not allow fighting here, leave the fighting for the arena and the other academies. I can¡¯t make you do anything but try not to waste your time on each other here and focus on becoming the best you can. Two months seem long, but they will fly by and I need your full cooperation to do my job properly. Understood?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Luca uttered. Jose didn¡¯t respond and finally the dean spoke again. ¡°Jose, you can leave, Luca please stay for a minute.¡± Jose looked at Luca again with hatred in his eyes and whispered ¡°This isn¡¯t over, for you or your little girlfriend.¡± ¡°JOSE!¡± The dean raised his voice and Jose scurried out of the door. ¡°Now Luca. You might be wondering why I kept you behind but do not be alarmed. I read your file, and you have my sincere condolences about your father. I also lost my father as a young boy.¡± The words stung and Luca could feel his eyes moisten. ¡°Thank you sir. Can I go now?¡± He wanted to get away from this awkward, friendly situation as quickly as possible. ¡°No, not yet, I don¡¯t want you fighting, with them I mean. They are children, you are a man. You have to think about your family. If they bother you, come straight to us. Understood?¡± Luca nodded, surprised by the affectionate display. ¡°Now you may go. You¡¯re going to be late for morning training.¡± He showed him the door and Luca quickly made his way out. Ana and Carlos were the only two left in the dinner, waiting for him. ¡°Listen Luca, I am really sorry, it¡¯s my fault, I should¡¯ve looked where I was going, and now you got beaten up for a stranger.¡± Luca held up his hands. ¡°Whoa, slow down Carlos. It is fine. I''ve had much worse beatings than that.¡± He snorted, remembering the pummeling he took from Milo. ¡°Forget about it alright?¡± He could see Ana looking at him caringly and made eye contact with her. ¡°I''m alright, really. Let¡¯s go, we''re going to be late for training.¡± Outside of the large building there was an athletics field with obstacles set up. The group of students were split up into different classes and were each doing different exercises. The three of them got placed to do warmup running on the track and they set off at a comfortable pace. After one lap Carlos was struggling and his cheeks had already turned blood red. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, it¡¯s only the first day, you have plenty of time to get fit.¡± ¡°Yes, I agree with Ana, maybe you should take a seat and then join us for the next round of exercises.¡± They passed the spectators'' seats and Carlos left them. ¡°Thanks for what you did this morning,¡± Ana said, ¡°I think it meant alot for Carlos, even though he feels terrible about it.¡± ¡°Yes, no problem, hopefully that was the end of it.¡± They finished exercising in the late morning and gathered in the food hall for lunch. Afterwards they had an introduction to wartime strategies and were expected to do homework on it. Late that night when the trio finished doing their homework together in the food hall, Carlos finally laid his pen down. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s me guys. I need to get some rest.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think all of us could do with a little bit of rest. Let¡¯s call it a night and finish tomorrow morning. 5am back here?¡± Ana suggested. ¡°Sure,¡± Carlos and Luca accepted. Luca walked Carlos to his room and saw he was opposite of Jose in the hall. Jose sneered. ¡°Well, well, well look who it is.¡± Carlos muttered under his breath. ¡°Just ignore him, Luca.¡± ¡°Good evening Jose,¡± Luca said cheerfully. ¡°I hope you have a lovely night''s rest.¡± ¡°Oh we will.¡± He laughed and entered the room with one of his followers. ¡°Gosh, hate is a strong word but I am pretty close to hating that guy and I don¡¯t even know him.¡± Luca patted him on his back reassuringly, ¡°Nah, just forget about him, he¡¯s a nobody. Goodnight man.¡± Luca watched Carlos enter his room and left. Walking back to his room, he had a feeling of loneliness, of missing his family. He doubted if he was doing the right thing and should have found a more surefire way of getting an income. He just hoped his mom was able to find a job, providing for them both. At least they didn¡¯t have to feed him for a while as well. Entering his room, empty of life he sat down at his desk. Sleep has not yet knocked on his door and he used this opportunity to go through his strategy manual. He focuses on the Fast & Hard sections. Where he specialized and already had experience in. Luca studied for a few hours and finally decided to go to bed. He looked at his clock just above his doorway and it read 2:30am. ¡°Well this is tomorrow¡¯s problem.¡± He shrugged and slammed his book shut. He laid down in his bed and sleep washed over him. The next morning they were all held back instead of training again, which Luca could see Carlos was very grateful for. After breakfast a large projection was printed on the white wall and the dean entered the room. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.¡°Welcome everyone, I trust you are all well-rested and prepared for today. We will be conduction an intro to all the rules of game we know so far.¡± He paused as he saw Jose high fiving his friends. ¡°I can imagine you are all very curious as to what it may hold. Well I have bad news, not even the academy knows all the details but I will share today what we know so far.¡± He clicked on the remote in his hand and a wall of text appeared on the projection. Welcome to The Modern Domain. A three month tournament in which you will travel through Baria in search of the Golden Katana. First person to find it will receive $1 000 000. Second person to EQUIP the weapon will receive $500 000, and third will be rewarded $250 000. The player equipping the sword has to be killed to drop the sword. The Katana can not be unequipped and will be visible to everyone around you. Every hour spent with the Golden Katana in your possession will grant you $500. Every kill will grant you $350. So there is money to be gained throughout the whole tournament. The combat and leveling system has been revamped for this challenge. Certain body parts will take more damage and you only have one level to increase. Hero level. Experience points are spent to upgrade your weapon which is bound to you. Everyone starts out with a knife and will spend experience points to upgrade their base weapon, attachments, gear, mounts and custom colors. Ammunition is a limited resource but will be dropped by all monsters and dungeon bosses. All damage is determined by your upgrades to a realistic output. IE a headshot without a helmet will almost always kill you. Once dead, you will not respawn. This is a LifeSim. Thirst, hunger, stamina, heat and cold all affect your health. Players will be put into a coma for the duration of the three months monitored by the best doctors of the world. After 75 days of the tournament running, the Golden AK¡¯s position will be shown on a real time map which is replacing the World map for this challenge. Armor and gear can be crafted through the crossed swords interface in your HUD using gold when you are close to a crafter in a city. Every city will start out unclaimed and up for grabs. Keeping a city for 12 hours will reward your current party with $50 each. Find a team. Good luck, may the best hero win. Luca read the introduction and raised his hand. ¡°Yes Luca,¡± the dean looked at him. ¡°Excuse me sir, I have a lot of questions as I have never played The Shadow Domain. Will we get a chance to get answers on all of them?¡± And he heard a groan behind him, guessing it was Jose again. ¡°Ofcourse, after this class you will be divided into teams according to your own choice, and will be assigned a teacher and mentor who will be your guide until the tournament starts. Any other questions?¡± A brunette girl in the back raised her hand and the dean continued. After most of the questions had been answered the Dean held his hands up. ¡°Okay, enough questions, save them for your teachers. That''s why I pay them.¡± He laughed. A row of new faces entered the room and Luca could see Isabel and Aflonso amongst them. ¡°These are your new teachers. Please, introduce yourself and then divide yourself amongst them. There are 750 students and 30 teachers. So average around 25 students per. Oh and remember, no infighting between the teams. We are all part of a bigger team. The enemy is out there. Please continue.¡± He left the building and the teachers started the process. Each teacher had specialized experience in certain domains of gaming. When it was Alfonso¡¯s turn he introduced himself and his specialities, rush tactics and full assaults. Luca thought he might be a good match for himself. He had heard Ana is a support player but he was not quite sure what Carlos preferred. ¡°Hi everyone, you all probably know me, I am Isabel and I have experience in defensive play and support. I also have experience in self-defense courses and make a good sniper when I need to. I would love to have any of you and you are welcome to come see me after introductions.¡± The three of them looked at each other and there was a mutual agreement that they were going to Isabel. ¡°Carlos, what do you play?¡± ¡°Usually I play what the team needs but I enjoy tanking and support as well.¡± ¡°Great then have two tank supports, can never have enough support.¡± he looked at Ana. ¡°You fine with Isabel?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± She nodded. After the introductions they made their way to Isabel. ¡°We would like to be on your team Isabel.¡± Her face lit up, ¡°Sure! Come along with me when everyone has decided.¡± The crowd thinned as they filled up the teams and went with their chosen mentors. When Isabel¡¯s team was formed they left to the far side of the athletics field. ¡°Okay, so,¡± She put her hands together. ¡°First things first. Introductions. We will be doing a lot of team building activities to get to know each other so just names for now. And then we are going to do an introduction to the system this afternoon.¡± Everyone gave out their names and Luca made a mental note of each one. Isabel gave them a rundown of the system and the tournament rules and Luca asked, ¡°How does the city system work?¡± ¡°The shadow domain is built inside the world of Baria. And in Baria there are many villages and cities. Now, if you and your party or team stay within the city long enough with the overwhelming force for a certain period of time, the city will be yours.¡± He said his thanks and she continued. ¡°The other thing that stood out to me was you all start out with a knife which is seen as your ¡°base¡± weapon. This item can¡¯t be dropped or unequipped and is the weapon which will be upgraded via the interface if we understand correctly. There will be weapons, upgrades, tools and equipment scattered around the world so be sure to check every nook and cranny for something which might help you.¡± Luca, Carlos and Ana excitedly discussed what they have learnt, and theorycrafted which weapons will be available. Entering the food hall at lunch time, everyone gulped down their food to be able to test out the system. Each mentor came in with a big box in their arms and carried it to their meeting place where she handed a rectangular carton to each one of them. Luca examined it and opened it revealing a shiny green case with GlassOS S engraved on the top. ¡°These are special versions created for this tournament only and with them you can only enter the tournament world. Each academy has been given their own world and will be allowed to spend a number of hours training inside it to get used to the environment and available equipment.¡± There was a chorus of oohs and ahs in the small group as they excitedly fiddled with their new pairs of glasses. Luca looked at his, and thought of the monetary value something like this would have and how long he could feed his family with it. ¡°Please everyone,¡± Isabel''s voice pulled Luca back to reality. ¡°Put on your glasses and go through the character creation. Remember there is only one race available, humans. To keep it fair for everyone. You can choose in which City you want to spawn, so feel free to enjoy the game for 2 hours before we need to go back.¡± Luca found himself laying on the grass. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Fresh cool air filled his lungs and he smiled at the smell of nature filling his nostrils. He opened his eyes and it revealed a large grass square in the middle of towering buildings. ¡°Whoa! Look at this knife!¡± He heard a voice behind him. He saw players all around him appear after a brief white light. The voice turned out to belong to one of his classmates, Turner, a well-built man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. ¡°Here you are, where¡¯s Carlos?¡± He saw Ana walking up to him. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven''t seen him.¡± Just as he finished his sentence he saw Carlos spawn in, his character being a gigantic muscle mass of a man. Couldn¡¯t keep her laughter in. ¡°Really, how are you going to hide behind anything,¡± She said between the tears streaming down her face. ¡°Well just wait until I have to dig you out of rubble.¡± He retorted. ¡°Let¡¯s see what''s going on around here.¡± He opened his map and saw his indicator being in the middle of the city named Breau. ¡°Looks like we are in Breau, and that seems to be the castle.¡± he pointed to large towers pointing out above the rest of the medieval buildings.`` They made their way towards the castle and walked past a few classmates who had been exploring the city. ¡°Right, let¡¯s find the crafter, he should be here somewhere.¡± Carlos suggested. ¡°I need to get used to the map,¡± Luca said worryingly. ¡°This thing is huge!¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy once you know the basic layout.¡± They found the crafter, but all the options were locked and they could not see what weapons would be available. So they decided to go out into the countryside belonging to the city and its castle. Luca and Ana lost themselves in the tall trees and all the greenery they could feast their eyes upon. They walked to the nearby forest which Ana said was named the Golwynn forest and showed him the Eagmeareb mountain range and the first dungeon entrance. After two hours a voice could be heard in the atmosphere and asked them to log out. Luca¡¯s consciousness flooded back to him and he found himself back on the athletics field. The highly excited crowd walked back into the food hall, where their introduction to hand to hand combat will be given, but Luca had more hope, everything just became real. Chapter 8 The days passed quickly as they were spent in physical and mental training leaving them exhausted each night. A week before the launch date, the dean addressed them again and said they would be doing an interacademy competition. They will be going up against each class in a tournament to practice their skills which they have learnt so far and the winner will receive $200. ¡°The goal will be to capture Isabel and bring her to Reander a city to the south. All the teachers will be in the game moderating your movements and making sure there are no illegal plays. You will be limited to the Eagmeareb region and have a day to prepare. Good luck.¡± Anticipation hung in the air the next day as the classes came together in the food. Each class had different color armbands connected to their glasses which will reflect in game. Luca and Ana were talking when Carlos joined them. ¡°You guys ready?¡± he asked nervously. ¡°Yep! Ready to rumble!¡± Ana respond happily. ¡°Just remember, us three need to stick together no matter what.¡± Each class sat in a different corner of the large dinner hall ready to put their glasses on. The dean walked in with loudspeaker and announced. ¡°Classes, ready up for me, log in to your characters and spawn.¡± Luca put his glasses on and activated it. He could feel the sensors on the armbands working, sending signals to his brain. Whirling into a void his mind went blank and when it resurfaced he was standing back in Eagmeareb. He quickly took stock of his inventory and gear. He had a knife and bandage. The Dean spoke into the world, ¡°Alright, it looks like everyone has spawned. This is a test match for $200. You have 8 hours to have everyone eliminated. All items, gear and equipment are unlocked and can be bought with experience points. Good luck and may the best hero win.¡± Luca glanced over to his right where he could quickly count over 30 people. To his left he saw the same amount. He searched the crowds for Ana and Carlos, and eventually spotted them ahead of him. He looked past them and saw a small hut and decided that is where he is going to go. ¡°You may start.¡± He jumped away at a sprint, heading straight for where he last saw Ana and Carlos, but couldn''t find them once he arrived. A bloodbath ensued around him. People thrashing on the ground, hands and fingers cut off, some had deep gashes on their bodies and faces and they were frantically trying to cover it with their bandages. ¡°Ana! Carlos!¡± He yelled around him, but the only attention he caught was of scrawny man a few paces in front of him. He looked up from his current victim at Luca with a bloodthirsty smile. Somebody flashed past him and the man was gone. The next moment he felt someone dive into him from the side. He blocked as the unidentified body was hitting him and he tried to hastily remember what they were taught in self defense class. ¡°Get off me!¡± He could now see the face in the sunlight as he sat back on top of him and started to pummel his face with his fists. Luca kept his arms up trying not to take damage but in the top right corner of his HUD he could see his health depleting slowly. The man had fearless green eyes, looking down at him in an animalistic rage. Luca tried his best to block with one arm and reached for his knife on his side. He drew the large bowie knife from its sheath, and remembered his training and where vital points are in the body. Holding the knife tightly he drove it into the side of his attacker who howled in pain. Quickly he pulled the knife out and repeated his action. The man started bleeding from his mouth and looked even more insane now. He reached for his own knife and lifted it above his head to go in for the killing blow, but Luca was faster and quickly stuck the knife into his chin, hitting his brain. The blooded man went still for a moment and then fell limply on top of Luca. He pushed him off, jumped up and tried to get his bearings. He saw the man turn into a black smoke and disappear. A notification appeared on his screen. You have received 400xp for killing a player. Level up! Current level: 2 Spendable experience: 400 ¡°Have to get to the house.¡± He thought to himself. He rapidly gained ground as he ran towards the opening and slid in, closing the door skillfully behind him mid slide. Resting his head on the floor, he looked at his surroundings. There was a large bookcase and two wardrobes in the small hut. Jumping to his feet he quickly started searching but the only useful thing he could find was a rope. He looked at the carnage outside through the window trying to spot Ana or Carlos. There''s no way he could survive this without someone watching his back and for his struggling family, $200 would mean a lot. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. There. Ana was thrusting her knife into her attacker''s stomach repeatedly. His entrails started to fall out in pieces. He didn¡¯t think she could be so violent. Eventually she stopped and stabbed him in the side of his head, killing him instantly and he fell to the side. Disappearing into the air and leaving her knife behind. He ran over to them. ¡°Ana! Carlos! I¡¯ve been looking for you. Come quickly, I know a place.¡± He dragged them across the battlefield into the little hut and they hid below the window. ¡°We have to hide somewhere until the masses have sorted each other out.¡± ¡°We could always try and get out of the city, once this dies down, the stronger groups will search the city first and we are only three.¡± ¡°For now¡­¡± Said Luca hopefully. ¡°Let''s get out of the city, you are right.¡± Before Ana could object, Luca bursted out the door scrambling towards the city gate. He only turned to look behind him once and Ana and Carlos were on his tail. Luca was proud of Carlos, thinking about how far he had come. When he reached the city gates he could see other players blocking the exit. ¡°Oh no!¡± Ana yelled from behind. Luca assumed she saw it as well. ¡°We got this Ana, stay close.¡± He pressed on and barreled into the first defender, knocking him off his feet. Before he could react, Luca had drawn his knife and accurately stabbed him in his heart, sending him off in a shadow. Carlos had done the same while Ana had lost the upperhand and the defender was on top of her. He was driving his knife towards her face and Luca quickly tackled him off of her. Carlos helped Luca hold him down and Ana slit his throat. Watching the life drain from his eyes as he was choking on his own blood. When he stopped struggling he dissipated into a black cloud as well. They continued out of the northern gate and immediately turned east towards the forest which they scouted out before. ¡°We can hide in the forest and regather there.¡± They ran and ran. He never felt his legs weaken or get tired because there was no stamina in this universe and he loved it. They arrived in the forest and hid between a thicket and a large tree. Amidst the chaos a giant timer in the sky had appeared counting down the 8 hours. 7:32:39.. 7:32:38.. 7:32:7¡­ ¡°We gotta stay on the move,¡± Luca said and motioned towards the timer. ¡°Quick! Check your interfaces for your experience and upgrade as you see fit.¡± He focused on the flashing icon on his HUD. Congratulations you have killed 1 player and assisted in another. You gained 600 exp. Total spendable experience: 900 He scrolled through his interface and saw all the weapons he unlocked. He grabbed a pistol, Glock 19 for 600 exp, and it fell from the sky in front of him. Huh, they must¡¯ve changed the rules for the training round. He quickly equipped it and its holster appeared on his leather belt. Carlos took a spear and some light armor and Ana opted for a med kit. ¡°Ready?¡± They nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± He stood up and scanned his surroundings and listened for movement. When he felt like it was safe, the trio climbed out of the underbrush and started to move. Ana opened her map. ¡°It looks like Shater is closer to the east and it will likely be the quickest and quietest compared to the city.¡± ¡°Yes, I agreed,¡± Carlos said. Luca had spent time on studying the map but it was nowhere near as valuable as experience so he followed their lead. They pushed through the forest and got onto the road. He felt he was moving quicker on it when running and remembered there was a 10% speed increase on any roads. They made good progress until they heard an engine running and quickly gaining on them. ¡°Quick, in here!¡± Carlos pointed to an opening in the brush. They dove after him and hid behind trees as the car came closer. Luca unholstered his pistol and cocked it. The car came to a standstill a few meters in front of them. ¡°I saw them ran in here!¡± One of the players yelled out. ¡°Hello? I saw you Luca, it''s Turner. We just want to talk.¡± He remembered Turner and perceived him as a good person and one who would stay true to his word. But, $200 was on the line. And that was a lot right now. Luca peeked at Ana, she just shrugged her shoulders. I could trust him now, for $200 and maybe gain two friends, or risk going after $1 000 000 as three. He walked out from behind the tree raising his gun. ¡°Whoa, Luca, we just want to talk. Let us work together. I¡¯ve been watching you three put in the work with Emile over here. I would like to offer my full support. I can¡¯t do this alone, you can use four extra hands. Let us work together.¡± He thought about it for a minute then quickly looked at Carlos who mimicked Ana¡¯s response. With a sigh he said, ¡°Okay fine. You are right. And I¡¯d rather have you at my back than a stranger.¡± ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? I am assuming you three are on your way to Shater, let¡¯s go!¡± The car got them there much quicker than by foot, and they quickly saw the village crawl over the horizon. Turner and Emile had spent their points together on the cheap car so they were still stuck with the base knife. ¡°Turner, you and Emile stay behind us. Carlos you go in front. Protect the medic at all costs.¡± They flanked around the village and entered from the side. Luca found a house with four windows, one on all its sides, and decided it would be the safest. ¡°Let¡¯s bunker down there and ambush whoever comes in. That way we can farm experience and try to survive until the clock comes down.¡± With a player station at each window and Ana sitting in the middle, they started talking and discussing how they all ended up there. Most of them came from factory worker backgrounds except Ana who seemed like the rich kid of the group. The only one who is not doomed by the monotony of a factory worker¡¯s life. ¡°Are you guys friends with anyone else in the academy? Maybe we could try and build a bigger squad.¡± Carlos asked. ¡°No, people at the academy aren''t really the social and outgoing type.¡± They all laughed. Emile held up his arm for silence. He pointed two fingers to his eyes and then pointed out of the window. Three players were sneaking along the forest line that bordered the village. Chapter 9 Three players were sneaking along the forest line that bordered the village. All of them had guns equipped but Luca could only see pistols. He looked at the party around him. ¡°Emile, move up, let me stay with the gun, and then if they come closer you guys could try to move around them while I have their attention.¡± Emile did so and Luca steadied his gun on the windowsill. The trio was moving swiftly, only stopping every 20 paces to scan their surroundings. When they were straight ahead of the window, Luca took a deep breath and fired a shot at the middle player, hitting him in the shoulder. He was flung to ground and the other two started sprinting for cover. Luca fired a few more shots into the player and saw the black smoke, signifying his demise. Congratulations you have killed 1 player and assisted in another. You gained 600 exp. Total spendable experience: 900 The other two players had noticed where the shots were coming from and started shooting back at the open window. Luca ducked for cover as bullets flew into the room. ¡°Okay, Emile, Carlos, move out to flank them! Ana, Turner, you two stay with me!¡± The door opened and immediately shots went towards it. Luca aimed and fired at them forcing them back into cover. Emile and Carlos left the building. ¡°Shit! I¡¯m hit!¡± Turner said from the corner of the room, looking at his waist where a dark red patch has begun to form. Ana crawled to him and opened his shirt. She quickly applied one of the patches in her medkit and started disappearing. He twisted his body a few times, testing it out. ¡°Wow, that was quick!¡± Luca could see out of the window where Emile and Carlos had been making a wide arc around where the players were hiding. He came up with a plan. ¡°Turner, are you fine with creating a distraction?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± He crawled towards Luca. ¡°Okay so I will give you cover fire, you will go around the other side and start getting their attention giving Emile and Carlos enough time to get within melee distance.¡± He nodded, and Ana asked, ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°I need you here with me for if I get shot and then we will join Turner once he is in position.¡± Luca stood up and fired where the other players were hiding behind a builder. Keeping their heads down while Emile and Carlos sprinted towards them. Turner stood up at the same time, yelling at them, drawing them out of their hiding spot. It¡¯s working. They revealed themselves and Luca fired at them hitting in his shoulder. He screamed in pain as he was clutching his arm. ¡°Now!¡± Luca yelled at Ana and they sprinted towards Turner. No, he¡¯s standing too tall. The next moment a bullet hit Turner in his forehead, knocking him backwards. Before he could hit the ground he Turned into smoke. While the player was focused on them, Emile and Carlos had snuck up on him and tackled him to the ground. Luca and Ana arrived. He walked up to where they were holding him down, drew his pistol and shot him in the head which exploded on impact. Congratulations you have killed 1 player and assisted in another. You gained 600 exp. Total spendable experience: 1500 ¡°Right, guys, we lost Turner. And made a hell of a noise, we should move on.¡± The others stared at him, they were shocked at his carelessness after he just shot a player in his head. ¡°I think I am going to be sick.¡± Emile said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t think you can be sick in this game.¡± Ana said reassuringly. ¡°Come, let¡¯s get back to the car. Let¡¯s move.¡± As they were walking back to the car, Ana tapped Luca on his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± ¡°I mean, you just made a guy''s head explode and it didn¡¯t touch you.¡± He turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders, ¡°It¡¯s just a game Ana, it¡¯s just graphics. We can¡¯t be phased by what makes us win this game.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She nodded her agreement, and apologized. ¡°No, don¡¯t apologize. You will get used to it.¡± Arriving at the car, Emile got in the driver''s seat and Luca got into the passenger seat, he looked up at the timer. A new number has appeared. 6:05:32. 472/749 ¡°Do any of you know how we are going to find Isabel? I am assuming she will be shown on the map like the Katana in the real game.¡± Carlos asked. ¡°Yes, that is what I assumed as well.¡± Ana replied. Carlos pulled away with screeching tires and drove into the forest. They drove towards the tall mountains which towered out above the forest. Once they were deep enough, Luca asked Carlos to stop and the four of the clambered out of the car. ¡°We can rest here. I need to look at the map.¡± He opened his interface and saw there is a village far north called Sinari. ¡°What if they put Isabel in Sinari and want us to travel the long way down?¡± ¡°Could be, but that would take hours Luca.¡± Emile said. ¡°Okay, but it''s not necessarily one team who will have control of her the entirety of the journey. I think we need to set up and ambush and wait. I think that is the game plan for the dean. To give us a realistic feel for how it is going to go down.¡± They sat quietly, each in their own mind about how this whole thing could go down. Ana came to sit next to Luca but said nothing. ¡°Ana, why were you nice to me on the bus?¡± ¡°To be honest¡­ You looked like shit. Like you needed a smile.¡± She laughed. Her so very beautiful laugh. ¡°Ah I see. So it wasn¡¯t my hot looks.¡± He winked at her. ¡°Definitely not,¡± she laughed even harder. He lost himself in her blue squinted eyes as she laughed. ¡°What''s the laughing about?¡± Carlos called out to them. ¡°Nothing serious,¡± Ana said back to which he snorted and rolled his eyes. ¡°Well Ana, thank you.¡± ¡°It''s my pleasure Luca.¡± They laid back on the forest floor and looked at the clouds in the sky, watching the clock tick down. 5:30:00¡­ 5:00:00¡­ 4:30:00¡­ ¡°Alright I am getting bored guys, I am going to walk around and see what''s going on here.¡± Emile got up and started walking to the underbrush. ¡°Alright, just yell out if something happens, alright?¡± Luca said. ¡°Yep! I¡¯ll be fine.¡± They sat with Carlos waiting for something when Emile came walking through the underbrush. But he was not alone. A figure was standing behind him, with a rifle aimed at his head. ¡°Well, well, well look what we have here.¡± Jose. Around them, more players appeared from the trees and he counted 6 of them. They all had firearms. ¡°It looks like you boys and girls are outnumbered,¡± Jose continued. ¡°Look, Jose let¡¯s talk this out, alright?¡± Luca¡¯s mind was grinding gears as he was looking for a solution. But he could not see his team escape from this alive. ¡°Jose¡­¡± Ana started walking towards Jose. A loud bang sounded and Luca saw Ana¡¯s head disappear in a cloud of red mist from the large caliber rifle. ¡°No!¡± Luca stormed one of the other players and he felt burning bullets go through his body. Suddenly he was whirled back to reality, sitting on the athletic field. ¡°No! Not like that!¡± He raged. ¡°Emile, why did you have to walk away from the group! Couldn¡¯t you just sit on your ass for a few more minutes?!¡± He yelled as he saw Emile starting to move and coming back. ¡°I am supposed to feed my mother and sister! You just took food out of their mouths!¡± Luca could feel the anger overflowing, he wasn¡¯t necessarily mad at Emile, he just couldn¡¯t stand the embarrassment of dying to Jose. Ana rushed in front of him pushing him lightly against his shoulders. ¡°Luca, look at me!¡± She shouted in his face. ¡°It¡¯s not his fault! It¡¯s nobody''s fault, okay? Just relax.¡± ¡°Relax Ana? My mother and sister will die of hunger if I don¡¯t make this work. Do you understand that? Anybody who gets in the way is stopping me from feeding my family. Who am I kidding, you probably don¡¯t even know what it feels like being hungry! You¡¯ll never understand!¡± He pushed past her and Emile braced for a hit. But he kept walking straight to the entrance to the academy''s building. How will I beat the world if I don¡¯t even have a team? It''s ruined. I am going to have to work in a factory. He stormed into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. Just as he took his shoes off to lay on his bed, the intercom sounded in the hallway. Luca, please make your way to the Dean''s office. Emile and Ana probably went to complain about his outburst and now he is getting kicked off the team. Useless. We are all useless! He thought. When he arrived at the Dean¡¯s office, he was surprised to find himself standing alone at the door. He knocked twice and the door opened. Alfonso and the Dean were waiting for him. ¡°The competition is still going on but I saw what happened out there and want to talk to you. Please, have a seat.¡± He motioned to an empty seat next to Alfonso opposite the desk. ¡°Luca, like I told you I know what you have been through. Your fellow students have all been through their own hardships and have their own, valid, reasons to be here and to make a success out of this. Everyone here knows this is their chance at becoming more than life in the mega factories. Now is not the right time to make enemies, but see it as a way to strengthen your bonds. You have a week left, and if you have another outburst on your teammates I will have to make you leave the academy. I can¡¯t allow you to jeopardize this for the rest of us. Am I clear? Get your emotions in check and figure out a winning plan.¡± Luca had nothing to say. Everything the dean was telling him was true. He wasn¡¯t the only one there to change his life. Everyone had a chance to change their lives. ¡°Yes sir.¡± was all he could get out. By the time he entered the food hall again the competition had finished and most students had made their way inside, sitting with their teammates to have a debrief. Jose came in carried by his teammates. Word got around in the end he shot his friends when they were the final ones left, after he had promised to split the money with them. Everyone applauded when he walked in. Luca saw Ana and Carlos sitting alone at a table, and further to the right Turner and Emile. He went to sit alone at a table which had a good view of the dean who had followed him to the food hall. ¡°Welcome everyone, settle down.¡± The dean said. ¡°Firstly and most importantly, well done to Jose for winning the first interacademy tournament.¡± There were whoops from the crowd, the loudest ones from his own table of course. ¡°Jose and his team found Isabel and brought to Reander safely, taking no losses for his team and successfully completing the mission. Well done.¡± There was another applause. ¡°I am sure everyone has had a lot of training and practice now. As much as we could possibly fit into this program. The final 5 days before the competition will be off days and you will be allowed into the world at any time with no death limits. Use it wisely. I am very proud of all of you for what you have become and achieved in these 2 months. Remember always, it is not over until your time is up. We have prepared a feast for you all. Enjoy it, and get a good rest in, because tomorrow begins the countdown to the tournament.¡± Chapter 10 He sat up in his bed. It was the final day before the tournament. He had spent the week redrawing his plans and changing them. He summarized each of the former teammates strengths and weaknesses as he observed them and where he feels they will perform with the most confidence. He also studied how to get himself into situations which will lead to them coming out on top. He had also researched the dungeons in the game and how they could be soloed the easiest. With firearms it would already be easier because they are scaled towards magic and medieval weapons, like swords and bows. Rumors were being told of a Crimson Regiment who is a large school on the Australian continent run by the Elite for the Elite. The odds were high in their favor to win the tournament as they had much more training time and were aware of the tournament a lot sooner than the factory schools. In the food hall, he saw Carlos and Ana and decided to try and talk to them. But they stood up and left the table as soon as he sat down, sending a clear message that he was still not welcome or forgiven. He wrote a letter to his mother saying he missed her and he is sorry that he might have messed up their chances. But he promises he will be back soon and find a factory job quickly to support them. The next day they were transported by buses to a nearby airport where they were flown to Tenerife, the main island of the Canary islands off the coast of North Africa. When they boarded the plane, he saw an open seat next to Ana and Carlos. He went to sit next to them. ¡°Listen, I know I am not welcome. I just want to say I am sorry. It wasn¡¯t right of me to blame Emile. And it wasn¡¯t your fault that we ran into Jose and his cronies. Please think about it, we can¡¯t do this alone. There are going to be teams of hundreds if not thousands. Please Ana and Carlos. I don¡¯t have anyone else. But this is my final plea, if you don¡¯t want me near, I will accept it.¡± After a few minutes of silence he got up to look for another seat. He felt a hand pull him back into the seat. ¡°Sit your ass down and please tell me again how wrong you were.¡± Ana said sarcastically. He looked at her and she was smiling from ear to ear. ¡°I am really sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have drawn away.¡± She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek which made him turn tomato red. ¡°Aaaaah shucks, I can¡¯t say no to that cute face, come here brother.¡± Carlos wrapped his arms around them as well and the three of them spent a few seconds enveloped in each other''s arms. ¡°I have a plan guys, but we¡¯re going to need Turner and Emile back.¡± They were sitting behind them and Turner perked up. ¡°Already here sir, count us in.¡± He flashed him a grateful smile. ¡°Okay so¡­.¡± He spent the flight talking to them about his plan and asking whether they agree on it. They were impressed by the amount of work and information he had gained about them. ¡°You did all of this in one week? Imagine if you did something like this for our interacademy competition.¡± She rolled her eyes jokingly. ¡°Thank you Luca, you have our support.¡± ¡°Good, but we have one missing piece.¡± He looked at his team which he had miraculously scrambled together again. ¡°Jose¡±. Luca could not ignore the fact that Jose has unrivaled charisma and support in the academy. He is going to need his support to gather all the other players into one team. Especially since most of them don¡¯t even know who he is. ¡ª-------- They arrived at the Tenerife airport and deboarded between two iron fences. He looked around him and saw everyone was proudly wearing their blue, black and white shirts. On either side of the fences there was a sea of red, The Crimson Regiment. They were jeering and booing the BlueBird academy as they walked down the lane. Plastic bottles and papers were thrown into the blue crowd from the sides. One red player even grabbed a blue player''s backpack but was quickly pulled off by security. Another spat at Jose and he finally cracked. He leaped into the crowds and started punching the red player and his cronies followed. A chaotic brawl ensued. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Follow me!¡± Luca yelled. He grabbed Ana¡¯s hand and pulled her through the crowd of security and blue and red players. A man latched onto Ana¡¯s other arm and she screamed. Luca spun around and saw what was happening. WIthout thinking for a second he punched the man in the face, forcing him to let go of her arm and holding his nose. Not waiting to see what happens, he pushed on. Suddenly there were gunshots fired into the air and everyone stopped. ¡°Next person to start a fight gets disqualified and goes to jail for disrupting the Elites plans.¡± The crowd separated and the blue players were allowed through freely walking past the sneering red players. Ahead of them they saw hundreds of long warehouses and in each warehouse were rows and rows of hospital beds. ¡°Yep! 20 000 of them.¡± Isabel suddenly said next to him. ¡°How are you guys feeling? Are you guys okay after the fight? They are just intimidated and need to vent their frustrations. No one is in trouble, okay?¡± The trio nodded. They could see each warehouse had a flag with a color flag underneath it. Canada was green, USA was purple, Australia was red. They followed the crowd until they reached the Spanish flag and entered the warehouse. Each player was given a tag which showed them their bed number. They found their beds, and Ana and Luca were next to each other but Carlos was a few rows away. Luca could see panic in his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Carlos. We will find you in-game. Okay? We will meet at the same house we hid in in the interacademy competition. How does that sound?¡± Ana and Carlos nodded and he looked visibly more relaxed. Attached to the long warehouse was another building which Isabel pointed out is the food hall. They will have dinner there and breakfast tomorrow before spawning in. A siren rang out across the island. ¡°All competitors, please make your way to your designated food hall. The Elite would like to have a final word with everyone.¡± Luca felt nauseous but was careful not to show anything. He had to be strong for Carlos. For Ana. They found Turner and Emile in the food hall and they all sat together. An intercom beeped and a woman''s voice started the announcement. ¡°Welcome everyone, to the first of many, The Modern Domain world tournament. Well done for getting here. As you may all know, there are a few changes in the final virtual world compared to the inhouse tournament worlds. It will have full LifeSim functionalities like stamina, hunger, thirst, heat and cold. Cities are also up for grabs like the normal Shadow Domain world. Should anyone suspect foul play feel free to open the ingame moderator chat which will contact one of our moderators and they will be in contact. That is all from us. May the best hero win. Good luck.¡± There was applause in the food hall with a high tension in the air. The intercom went silent and a ripple of excitement washed through the crowd. Ana, Luka and Carlos went to get food and sat down at their table with Isabel. ¡°Are you guys ready?¡± ¡°Nervous,¡± Ana said sheepishly. ¡°Just remember your training and do your best. That is all you can do Ana.¡± Isabel said reassuringly. ¡°We trained hard for this Ana, we will be fine. The only luck I see involved in this is the starting frenzy. We don¡¯t know how many teams start in each city, do we?¡± Turner turned to Isabel. ¡°No, and he is right. You should have a rendezvous point to meet outside of whichever city our academy spawns in where you could meet as soon as everything settles down. The start is going to be mayhem and it is crucial to survive through it.¡± They spent the remainder of dinnertime talking about their plans and making the final changes with Isabel. Luca looked around at the people he had gathered. They had made such a big impact on him in such a short time. The next morning sirens went off all over the island. Everyone quickly gathered in the food hall and gulped down their food. ¡°Enjoy your food boys and girls, it¡¯s your last meal for three months.¡± the dean announced. Luca glanced at Ana and they made eye-contact. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked, ¡°Yep!¡± she shrieked. As they finished their food, doctors had begun coming into the warehouse with soldiers helping them set up each bed with the necessary equipment. Large machines and screens had been set up around each bed. ¡°Whoa, awesome! It looks like a spaceship!¡± Carlos said. Luca looked at his bed nervously, he did not trust the Elite with his body for three months, who knows what kind of experiments they could be doing while he is unconscious. As Ana and Luca got to their beds, Luca couldn¡¯t help but think this was the right time to tell her how he really feels about her. ¡°Ana, I wanted to tell you something.¡± But he was interrupted as a doctor walked up to them. She had long brown hair and had a long white trench coat. Her smile sent shivers down Luca as he realized this is the closest he has come to an Elite. And he hated it. ¡°Please get into your beds.¡± She asked, smiling again. They did as she asked and put a drip in both of their arms. Luca winced, he hated needles. Luca looked around trying to break the focus from the drip in his arm as she connected him to all the monitors. He saw Isabel walk out of the warehouse and around the corner. She came running back in, with the dean shortly behind her. An intercom sounded ¡°Launch Tournament in 3¡­2¡­1¡­¡± A wave of blackness washed over Luca as he tried to see what the commotion was about. ¡°It¡¯s a trap! There are only two ways out of this, you win or you die!¡± the Dean yelled. He tried fighting the wave of tiredness but was unsuccessful as it dragged his eyes closed. Right before his eyes closed, he saw a soldier run up to the dean and hit him with his firearm and he fell to the ground. He was whisked away and felt his body being pulled into his character''s body. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 He blinked the blackness from his eyes and saw large buildings surrounding him. Players were spawning all around him. They were all getting used to their new bodies and flexing their hands and legs. Everyone had different colored clothes on and he made a mental note of the closest blue players. Looking at the surrounding players he saw there were no red players and assumed they spawned in another city. When he looked to the sky he could see a timer. Non-combat timer: 00:00:10 It was stuck on 10 seconds, he assumed it would be that way until everyone had spawned in. He tried to move forward but some invisible force was keeping him in place. He could turn on the spot but as soon he tried to move away from his current location the force blocked him. Scanning the crowd for any of his team he couldn¡¯t find any of them. And with horror he realized they were not in Breau. He thought back to the Dean and Isabel rushing into the warehouse. Suddenly, the reality of it all hit him. He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. A voice spoke out of the sky. There has been a minor change to gameplay. All deaths will now be permanent. In here and in the real world. Cries of shock and horror rippled through the crowd around him. Everyone looked at each. Luca tried to speak, to shout, to beg the closest not to come to him and give him a chance. But no words came out of his mouth. A siren echoed through the sky, and time started ticking down. Luca could feel the adrenaline starting to pump through his veins. Feeling around on his body, he found his knife and unsheathed it. It was a large bowie knife and he grasped it tightly. He opened his map and saw they were in a city named Jerla. Up north there was only ocean, but on the eastern, western and southern ends there were exits. Not too far from the Southern exit there was a forest and he made a mental note of it. With no sure way to find his teammates now, he looked at the surrounding buildings and searched for a vantage point from where he could possibly see his friends. Another siren sounded through the air. 00:00:03¡­ 00:00:02¡­ 00:00:01¡­ The timer flashed red for a few seconds and Luca could feel the force around him releasing him. The square erupted into a giant brawl, Luca kept his eyes on the nearest building and charged straight through the door. He frantically searched for something to lock it with. An old wooden chair was behind a desk and he took it and propped it up against the door handle. A loud bang sounded against the door as someone tried to bash through it as well. Seeing the stairwell behind him, he quickly started running up them. Counting the floors as he went. When he reached the fourth one he ran into the nearest room and looked at the window. Carnage. People were stabbing each other, some already had firearms and were taking shots at everyone. Even some teammates have turned on each other in the frenzy. The thirst for blood and panic had taken control of the crowd and there was no way of stopping it. Then, he saw a streak of blonde hair in a blue uniform. Ana. Scanning the area around her, he quickly spotted Carlos with her and Turner. They were heading toward a single story building with a flat roof and entered it. Good they haven¡¯t turned on each other yet. Slowly backing away from the window, he quickly made his way down the stairwell, just pausing at the final corner to make sure no one got through his temporary door lock. He was safe. He opened the door back into the bloodbath that was going on in front of him. He quickly spotted The flat topped building and started running. Shots were being fired and people were screaming in agony. As he entered the building he saw it was a store. He yelled out their names, desperately to find their location. ¡°Over here!¡± He saw Ana¡¯s head pop out the backroom. ¡°Thank goodness you guys are still fine.¡± They allowed him to enter and quickly closed the door behind him. They found themselves inside a storeroom. On the shelves were plenty of food and water. ¡°Quick look for something to carry all of this in.¡± Emile picked up something from the ground and said, ¡°Something like this?¡± In his hands were three backpacks. Lucas eyes lit up, this is a great start. ¡°Perfect!¡± They loaded as much water and food into the backpacks until an error popped on screen. Your inventory is full. As they explored the storage room, Carlos found a back door but when he tried it, it was locked. ¡°Look for something thing, maybe we can get the hinges out,¡± Turner suggested. The party scavenged around the room and Emile found a large fire extinguisher. ¡°Will this work?¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± Turner replied. He took the extinguisher from Emile and started bang the hinges, slowly loosening them until he could peel them off. The door swung inwards and fell on the ground with a bang. Luca stiffened, and waited for someone to come charging in, knife at the ready.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Gunshots were still being fired into all directions and people continued to run, looking for safety. ¡°We need to get out of the city.¡± Luca announced. The party nodded their agreement. They rushed out as a unit, Luca in front as he looked for the southern end of the city. He spotted two tall towers. ¡°There! That must be the city gate.¡± He leaped forward into a sprint, and the others followed. It was a cobblestone floor and he could feel gravel crushing underneath his sneakers. For the first time he took inventory of his clothing. He wore a plain blue hoodie with jeans and sneakers. So much for protection. A man with blood running from his head jumped out in front of Luca, without a pause he leapt at the man taking them both to the floor. He drove his knife into the side of him and stabbed him repeatedly. After the man had died, his side in a fleshy mush, Turner pulled him off. ¡°He¡¯s dead Luca! We have to move! He¡¯s dead!¡± Congratulations you have killed 1 player and assisted in another. You gained 600 exp. Total spendable experience: 600 exp Luca allowed himself to be dragged off and took the lead again. Ahead the towers came into full view and he saw the open gates. A large group of viridian green players were busy pushing them closed. Luca urged himself to dig deep and he could see his stamina bar depleting. ¡°Come on stupid legs!¡± He yelled at himself. The gates were closing but not quick enough and the party slipped through as they locked behind them. They heard shouts behind them and gunshots firing into their direction. ¡°To the forest!¡± Turner yelled. ¡°They won¡¯t chase us too long.¡± Luca could see other parties around them also running towards the forest. They approached the forest line quickly and burst in between the trees. Footsteps could be heard all around them as people were running deeper and searching for a hiding place. Luca saw a few trees bunched up together ahead of them, ¡°In there, that will provide enough cover to regather our senses!¡± The group followed and they crashed through the bushes into a small clearing. Another party crashed through on the other side. They wore white colored clothing. Everyone drew their knives at the same time. The man in front of the group yelled something threatening in another language. Luca held his arms up and resheathed his knife. ¡°No fighting right? We leave you and you leave us. Just give us a minute to catch our breath.¡± They were only three and two frightened women peered out on either side of him. The man seemed to understand and he slowly put his knife away. They wore golden yellow shirts with a small Japanese flag on their sleeves. ¡°Luca what are you doing?¡± Emile whispered under his breath. ¡°We can take them!¡± ¡°Oh shut up Emile,¡± Ana said and pushed past them, she took off her back and took out three water bottles and three food parcels. ¡°Here, take these. Stay on that side of the clearing and we¡¯ll stay on this side, okay?¡± She motioned to the side of the clearing. The three frightened players slowly picked up the food and drink and walked over to the side of the clearing where they indulged on the parcels and whispered in hushed voices. There was shouting going on in the forest and shots being fired every now and then but overall it seemed to quiet down compared to the city. ¡°What¡¯s the next move cap?¡± Turner asked. ¡°Who voted me the leader?¡± Luca laughed. Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re all fine with it,¡± Ana said. Luca sighed. ¡°Alright then. I was thinking we could start looking for dungeons and try to gain some exp to upgrade our gear while finding a proper place to set up camp. But we need to move further away from the city.¡± They got up and started moving. Ana brushed against his arm, ¡°See, always a man with a plan.¡± She gave him a sly wink. ¡°Watashitachi o hanarenaide kudasai.¡± the man said behind them. Luca looked over his shoulder and saw him standing up and walking towards him. In broken english he said. ¡°Please, no leave.¡± Emile looked at Luca, ¡°No, we are not doing this.¡± He turned to the Japanese man, ¡°No, sorry, you need to find your own team.¡± ¡°Wait Emile, what have they done to threaten us, we could use more people.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know them Luca, they will kill us in our sleep!¡± ¡°Then we keep watch until we trust them, and if they turn on us, then we kill them.¡± Emile sighed, ¡°Fine, but if something happens, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡± Ana walked up to the trio and embraced the two girls. Luca shook the man''s hand and they understood they were accepted. Emile threw his arms up in the air and stormed off. They followed and made their way south through the forest, much more slowly now, listening for the faintest signs of life. There were crunching leaves everywhere but no one crossed their paths. Luca opened his map and saw there is a village directly south of them but assumed everyone would be going there so they took a route around the west of it. They walked for a few hours until they saw a mountain reaching over the tops of the forest trees and took another break. ¡°There should be river to the east of here. The players must have all gone to the village. Sitting down, Luca could hear rustles in the leaves and chirping in the treetops as the forest started to come to life again. Luca spotted a small white creature hopping from treetop to treetop. It was completely white with long hare-like back legs. The creature had long ears and wings on its back, and two monkey-like front paws with opposable thumbs. ¡°What is that?¡± Luca asked. ¡°It¡¯s a Flauvil,¡± Ana said, ¡°Very common in the forests. But usually they travel in packs and they have a nasty set of teeth. So I wouldn¡¯t suggest messing with it. It might have its pack nearby.¡± Luca heeded the warning and continued to be awestruck by the fascinating creature. ¡°Come on, we need to find a place before it gets dark. I can assure you, it will start getting bloody again when the sun goes down.¡± Luca said grimly. Luca and his party gathered their belongings and moved back into the forest. He plotted a pathway straight south to the river and followed it. They only came across the odd creature and where a party has previously walked through but made no contact. When they reached the river, they followed it back west away from the village and found a secluded spot where they could setup a defense and wait out the night. We are not getting any sleep tonight. Luca thought. He cut through the brush and they found a covered spot between two large trees. ¡°What about there?¡± Turner asked, ¡°We will be protect from 3 sides and they only have one entrance.¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll camp here for tonight.¡± He gestured to the Japanese team what they have discussed and motion to the area they were standing in. ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope for a peaceful night.¡± Ana said and dropped her bag. ¡°Peaceful. Hah.¡± She laughed to herself. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Through the night they took turn standing watch. The Japanese teammates slept comfortable in their corner as Emile didn¡¯t trust them to partake in standing watch. The next morning Luca woke up to a flashing thirst bar and his hunger bar was pretty low. Since they had to share their food from the store, it had run out much quicker than they initially thought it would. They walked down to the river, and Luca had a refreshing slurp. He realized that is first time he had ever tasted fresh water, and took another deep drink. The group walked along the river in a scattered formation. They did not have access to firearms yet and Luca knew it they would be at major disadvantage should they cross paths with anyone right now. A shoar had wondered down to the water to drink and Luca held up his arm for the group to stop. Slowly he bent down into a crouching position and started stalking the giant boar-like creature. His friends quickly saw his plan and followed while the Japanese trio stayed behind. The shoar was suddenly distracted by movement on the opposite side of the bushes and Luca sprang into action. He leaped forward and ran to jump on top of the shoars back. The shoar heard him and let out an deafening screech as it turn to run away. But Luca had stalked close enough and only had to close a small distance. He landed on top of the shoar, and stab his dagger into its back and held on while the shoar was bucking like a rodeo horse. He took his other hand and grabbed a tuft of its fur and stabbed again this time hitting the spinal cord. He saw text appear and the shoar vanished into a black cloud. Critical hit! Congratulations! You killed one shoar and gained 200 exp. Total spendable exp: 800 exp. Loot: 3 x Shoar meat 2 x Shoar hide 2 x Shoar tusk Huh, thats much less than a player would have given, he thought to himself. He picked up the loot and opened his interface. New options had appeared under the crafting tab and he opened it. Shoar hide top = 5 x Shoar hide Shoar hide bottom = 3 x Shoar hide Shoar hide gloves and boots = 1 x Shoar hide each Shoar hide headgear = 2 x Shoar hide and 2 x Shoar tusks He informed his teammates of the update and suggested they go back to village they passed a few miles ago. ¡°We have spent a lot of time walking away from it Luca, if we go back now, there is an even higher chance of coming across other teams. I suggest we push on to the next village further away from the crowd.¡± Turner suggested. ¡°That is correct Turner, good plan.¡± Luca agreed. ¡°Lets push on then, according to the map it seems like Nijad is the closest.¡± They turned their direction eastward and followed the forest, staying under cover. They practiced military signals with Isabel and it had come in very handy so far and Luca sent a silent thank you to her. He had been thinking about her a lot and wanted to believe what the dean had yelled out was misheard. But he couldn¡¯t shake it from his mind. The forest opened up into plains and their cover had run out. ¡°From here on its a few miles to the village, stay low and a slow jog. If we see something everybody falls flat until we can determine the threat level, clear?¡± He looked at the group who had chosen him as their leader. He had no way to communicate with the Japanese team effectively but so far they had understand most of what they did, so he hoped they will just follow suite when they see the rest of them react. The under geared party jogged across the open plains, keeping their eyes open on the horizon around them. Luca¡¯s heart was sitting in his throat as every movement he thought shots will be fired at any moment. They rested for a few seconds in the open. Allowing their stamina bars to replenish and then pressed on. In the distance, smoke could be seen rising from the horizon. ¡°Must be the village,¡± Ana commented. Moving through the plains, a small village propped up, revealing small houses surrounding a large building in the middle. A patch of trees were on the north side of the village and Turner suggested they hide in there while scoping out the village. They proceeded towards the trees. ¡°So, who¡¯s going to be first?¡± A green player was walking in the middle of the village square with a long gun slung over his shoulder. Luca moved to the right to try and see who he was talking to. In front of the house sat three orange players with their hands tied behind their heads. ¡°Or¡­ you?¡± He pointed his rifle at another player. The orange player flinched and lost his balance, falling over. The green player kicked him in his stomach and they could hear him groan with pain, which turn into a coughing fit. Luca spotted 4 other players guarding the prisoners. ¡°Seems like no one wants to fight, we¡¯ll just have to kill you all then.¡± He raised his gun the head of the next player. But another green player came walking in pushing three yellow players. With a gasp, Ana looked around her and saw the Japanese players didn¡¯t follow them into the forest. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Luca!¡± She whispered harshly, ¡°The yellow players are gone!¡± He looked back at where they were being pushed into the square and forced unto their knees with the others. ¡°What do we have here Georgy?¡± He asked jokingly. ¡°Who is our unlucky contestors?¡± He could see the male Japanese player whisper something to one of the girls. The green player hit him across the face with his gun and started tying them up. ¡°Shut up! Or speak English!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move on guys, we can¡¯t go up against rifles.¡± Emile said a rushed voice. ¡°They were of no use anyways.¡± ¡°They are going to die Emile!¡± Ana retorted. ¡°Did you not hear the announcement? Death in here is permanent!¡± ¡°Yeah for us as well Ana, we can¡¯t save them. We gave them a chance but they blew it. We can¡¯t risk our lives for theirs.¡± A shot rang out across the plains into forest and they all jumped. ¡°Shit!¡± An orange played laid slumped face down in the dirt, and slowly turned into black smoke. ¡°They¡¯re going to kill them Luca!¡± Luca could tell she started crying even though in this world it didn¡¯t show. Think Luca, think dammit! What would your father do? He opened his interface and saw he could purchase one Glock pistol for 600 exp. He quickly bought it and it dropped from the sky, just like in the interacademy competition. ¡°Turner here, take this. Go around the village and create as big of a distraction as possible. You have 16 bullets make them count.¡± He turned to the rest of them. ¡°Emile.¡± Emile interjected. ¡°No. I am not helping some strangers and risking my life for them. If it was any of you, sure. But strangers. Hell now.¡± ¡°Time is running out Emile, if you don¡¯t do this you are no longer part of the team!¡± Luca raised his voice but quickly lowered it again in fear of being heard. ¡°Carlos, you and Emile come with me, Ana stay out of range, we need you to heal us if anyone goes down. Okay?¡± They nodded. Emile reluctantly gave his nod as well. ¡°Good. Turner go!¡± Gun shots rang out as soon as Turner left the forest, the green players had spotted him and were opening fire. ¡°Now, to the village, closest building, move!¡± He launched from the forest line, hearing Carlos and Emile crash through the tree line with him as they darted to the house. The firing stopped for a second as they reloaded and Turner, who had found cover, took his chance and fired back. He hit one of the green players in the chest and he fell to the ground, dropping his weapon. Luca took the chance and started running towards the dropped gun. He didn¡¯t have plans further but he needed his team to go by instinct now and prove their worth. The other green players were still distracted by Turner and started giving chase. They hadn¡¯t seen the rest sneak into the village. Luca drew his knife as he came closer to the downed green player as he hadn¡¯t disappeared yet which could only mean one thing. He¡¯s not dead. When got within reach of the firearm, the green players eyes shot open and he saw Luca. His eyes widened in fear as Luca lifted his knife and stabbed him in the forehead. He grabbed the long gun and ran back to the house where the others were. Congratulations! You killed a player and gained 600 exp. Total spendable exp: 800 exp. When he came around the corner he came face to face with Emile who had his knife raised ready to plunge it into his chest. ¡°Whoa! Emile! It¡¯s me!¡± He lowered his knife and looked at the gun in Luca¡¯s hand. ¡°The prisoners had started escaping!¡± Carlos yelled from the other corner of the house. ¡°They¡¯re untying each other!¡± ¡°Ana, Carlos, go help the Japanese players! Emile, you help the yellow players, I¡¯ll go and provide backup for Turner. Before seeing if they were actually going to follow out his commands he swung the rifle over his shoulder and spun around, running towards where Turners pistol could be heard firing. Leaving the village on the eastern side he saw Turner hiding behind a boulder, shooting only one shot at a time. Good, he¡¯s being smart! As the eldest of the group by over 7 years Luca could really count on him to have more knowledge. He brought his rifle to his shoulder and fired at the nearest green player, hitting him in the back and dropping him. A small hill was in front of him and he ran and dove behind it. He could hear bullets hitting the ground on the other side, and then Turners pistol firing again. The firing stopped and he peeked over the hill and saw the green players had stopped firing and were charging Turner. ¡°Turner! They¡¯re out! Shoot them!¡± He looked over the boulder and saw them, he dropped two of the players who turned into black smoke before hitting the ground. The final two jumped over the boulder and one tackled Turner into the grass and the rolled over. Luca saw a blade flashing in the sun, ¡°Turner watch out!¡± He raised his rifle again and shot the final standing one. He looked where Turner and his attacker vanished behind the rock and saw black smoke had appeared. ¡°No! Turner!¡± Running towards the boulder, he saw a figure stand up and he raised his gun. ¡°Drop your weapon, now!¡± Luca heard his voice turn shaky. The figure turned around. It wasn¡¯t Turner. Luca fired a single shot hitting him in the chest and he disappeared into black smoke. Luca gathered the guns from the ground, 3 long guns and a the pistol which he bought for Turner. He focused on the flashing button in the corner of his screen and it opened a text message. Congratulations you have killed 4 players and gained 2400 exp. Total spendable exp: 3000 exp. When he returned to the village he saw the three Japanese players and one of the yellow prisoners standing with Ana, Carlos and Emile. Ana ran towards him, ¡°Where¡¯s Turner?¡± Luca ignored her and handed her the pistol and long guns. ¡°Luca, I am talking to you, where is Turner?!¡± He continued to walk past her and she screamed at him. ¡°Luca, Where is Turner?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead Ana! They killed him!¡± Luca looked at Emile who stared at him with a shocked expression. ¡°You mean, dead, dead?¡± ¡°Yes, Emile, he¡¯s dead, dead.¡± They all stared at him for a second and then Emile charged Luca. ¡°This is your fault!¡± He tackled Luca into the dirt and started punching him where ever he felt an opening. Luca blocked his face, and started yelling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Emile!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Ana started screaming in the background and Luca could hear she is crying. ¡°Just stop already!¡± Luca gained the upper hand and pushed Emile off balance, giving him time to get on top of him and he started punching Emile¡¯s face. Ana came running and Luca could feel her tugging at his shirt but he pushed her off and continued beating Emile. ¡°Yameru!¡± The Japanese man and Carlos stepped in and dragged Luca off. ¡°Tariru!¡± Emile laid on the ground, groaning in pain while holding his face. ¡°That¡¯s enough Luca,¡± Carlos said by Luca¡¯s ear. Luca shook them off and looked around him. The two Japanese girls and the yellow prisoner were staring wide-eyed at what was unfolding in front of them. Ana was looking at him, he could see fear in her eyes and her bottom lip was quivering. ¡°I¡¯m¡­. I¡¯m sorry Ana,¡± He said and turned around and walked into the forest. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 I¡¯m not running away, I just need some room to think. To process. He walked into the forest and sat down on nearby roots of a tree. He just sat and listened. He heard birds singing, and somewhere a shoar calling out for its family. He saw flauvils flying high in the treetops. How can a world so beautifully crafted have such a dark underlining. And now Turner is dead. The Elite will pay. To try and calm down, he started scrolling through the shop interface. In the bottom of the interface there was a line stating. Total spendable experience: 3000 He wanted something which had high stopping power but which his budget, he knew he¡¯s going to have to settle for something less than adequate. He scrolled through the assault rifles, AK-47: 15 000 M4 : 15 000 Hmm that is still a long way off, as he scrolled down he came to older rifles, but still have high stopping power. MP 44 : 9 000 Still too much. Eventually he came to the single shot rifles with magazines and decided on one. Lee-enfield : 2800 He picked it and bought a case of ammunition with it which fell from the sky with a parachute, landing at his exact location. Quickly equipping the gun and stashing the ammo into his inventory, slung it over his shoulder and started walking back to the village. He started to ponder on a plan where he could hurt the Elite the most. They had their own team inside this hellhole, and chances are good that they will die as well should they die in-game. When he entered the village he saw his team had moved out of sight and hid in one of the houses. He saw Carlos sitting at the window, quickly raising his firearm when he saw Luca come out of the forest. ¡°Wait! It¡¯s me, Luca!¡± Ana stood up inside the house and came outside. She embraced him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ana, I shouldn¡¯t have yelled at you. It¡¯s no ones fault, but we couldn¡¯t have just left them there.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Ana mumbled in his chest. ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as we¡¯re all together.¡± The Japanese man came out with a smile and shook Luca¡¯s hand vigorously. ¡°Arigatou gozaimasu.¡± He pointed to Luca. ¡°Loekah,¡± he then pointed to himself, ¡°Tahashi.¡± The Japanese girls have come outside and were stand to the right of him. He pointed to the left girl, ¡°Sumisu¡± and then the right girl, ¡°Asaka.¡± Luca shook both their hands and felt their soft skin under his. ¡°Please to meet you he said with an awkward smile. Well, Tahashi, you are with us now.¡± Tahashi just smiled and Luca assumed he didn¡¯t understand a word he said. ¡°Where¡¯s Emile?¡± ¡°He is sitting, I wouldn¡¯t go talk to him right now.¡± Luca respected her request and said. ¡°Okay, I bought another rifle. We have 3 more and a pistol. Carlos, Tahashi and Emile will take the rifles and Ana,¡± He turned to her, ¡°Ill give yo the pistol so you can fire easier when helping someone on the ground. Is everyone cool with that?¡± Carlos and Ana both said yes but no response from Tahashi and Emile, for entirely different reasons. He took one rifle from Carlos who has gone to gather them and Luca noticed they were all lee-enfields. Passing it to Tahashi, he asked ¡°Do you know how to use it?¡± He pointed it away form the group and made pew pew sounds. Tahashi nodded and took the rifle, he handled it well and Luca was satisfied. ¡°Everybody ready to move on?¡± He looked at his status bar and saw his thirst is getting on the low end but nothing to worry about yet. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Emile came out of the house and the group started walking south again. South of the village was a large line of forest and they could see it running alongside the river. They broke into a jog until they were under the cover of the trees again. He appreciated the split second of peace. Indulging his senses with the freshness and calmness of nature. They followed the river east, keeping a low profile and listening for any movements. Once or twice they saw movement on the opposite side of the river but none of them were able to establish the team or even if it was a player or creature. But nonetheless, they were careful. Ana moved up to Luca. ¡°How you holding up? You know, with the killing and stuff.¡± ¡°Fine, we¡¯re going to be okay Ana. We¡¯re going to find a way out of this.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª They walked for a few miles and Luca looked up at the timer. 18:29:04¡­ 18:29:05¡­ 18:29:06¡­ The sun had started to set and he wanted to prepare for night time. They still had enough food with the shoar he killed and they were walking next to the river so everyone had enough to drink. ¡°Are we going to set up camp here somewhere?¡± He broke the silence. ¡°Yes sure,¡± Carlos responded and they found a covered spot and settled down. Luca watched everyone get into their spots and distributed lookout times for each one of them. It took some explaining but eventually Tahashi looked like he understood what was being asked of him. Luca settled between two roots, and scrunched his bag up for a pillow on the one end and his legs over the other root, and his rifle next to his arm, ready to be used at a moments notice. Sleep came rapidly and he was taken back to his family, but then his father kept interrupting and was yelling: ¡°Protect Turner Luca! It is your duty!¡± He sat up with a jolt, quickly realizing it was just a nightmare. Luca rolled over a couple of time and then gave up. It had been Carlos¡¯s turn to keep watch and he sent him too bed. Taking a seat on a higher branch he had a pretty good vantage point around him and would hopefully hear any noises sneaking up on them. Far away he could here screaming and gunshots. A group was probably raiding another under the cover of darkness. He heard rustling in the leaves behind him. Ana had gotten up and came to sit next to him on the branch. ¡°Hey,¡± She whispered with a sleepy smile. ¡°Hey Ana, you''re supposed to be sleeping.¡± ¡°I know, just wanted to check in with you. I wanted to let you know what you did today for Tahashi, Asaka and Sumisu, we all would have done the same thing. So don¡¯t think it is your fault. If anyone else was elected the leader they would have done the same.¡± Luca could feel his eyes getting warmer but the tears didn¡¯t come and he looked away. He turned back to her and she took his face in her hands and kissed him on is lips. ¡°I do like you Luca.¡± Luca was stunned, mixed with feelings of happiness and frustration and anger. It all seemed to collide inside him. He sat on the branch the whole night. He looked at his map and started looking for cities. Torat was the closest, and where we will most likely pickup the trail of Crimson groups. Luca decided that will be their next location, and stared into the darkness. Tomorrow we are starting to hunt the Elite. I don¡¯t care who stands in my way, what they did to Turner, to my father, to us¡­ We will have our moment, and when that moment comes, this time, the people will be behind the gun. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The next two days they traveled eastwards towards Torat. They stayed south of the main road and didn¡¯t encounter other players, but at night they could hear fighting far away. It seemed to Luca as if they always used the cover of darkness to strike. And was sure to have someone on the lookout at all times when they were resting. He did not want to be caught off guard. He estimated another day of traveling before reaching Torat and gave the party time to gear up. Closing in on the city will for sure be higher risk and need to be prepared for anything. He checked and recheck his rifle, making sure it is ready for action. ¡°Every have enough ammunition?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± They each responded. ¡°Good.¡± The fell into a jog across the plains, searching for movement in the surroundings. They got around a mile from the gates when they saw the first other party. The other party was a lighter shade of blue than theirs, and they quickly fell flat when they spotted Luca. ¡°If they start shooting show no mercy.¡± Luca whispered. He glanced over to Torat which was a large walled city, with huge wooden gates. If we make a run for it at least we¡¯ll have cover, but who knows what we will have to face inside. He looked over the plains seeing where the other party was laying on the ground. They had reached a stalemate, neither one of them willing to engage. They heard a huge creaking sound, and saw two vehicles leaving the gates. Crimson Regiment. Two players on the back of the pickup truck had red shirts on and Luca could immediately make out they were holding two assault rifles. Knowing they were outnumbered and outgunned, they slowly started crawling back to a small forest behind them. The light blue players to the south of them also spotted the moving crimson players and started reversing. ¡°On three we make a run for it to the forest.¡± The other team jumped up and started running. Luca grunted, ¡°Three, let¡¯s move, that''s our queue.¡± He kept is eye on the the group as the two groups ran to the forest. ¡°Luca! Look!¡± The Crimson Regiment had spotted them and started the covering the ground towards them. ¡°Run! Don¡¯t look back just run!¡± He willed his legs to move faster as he heard the grunting of the trucks grow louder behind him. The two parties broke into the underbrush of the forest together just as shots started landing around them. The two parties came face to face behind the cover of the bushes, raising their firearms. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 ¡°Wait!¡± The light blue player shouted. ¡°Please don¡¯t shoot, we just want to get away from the Crimson Regiment. They¡¯ve already killed our friends.¡± Luca had many thoughts jump into his head. Alone if we run into the Crimson Regiment we will never survive, but maybe together we stand a chance. Luca slowly lowered his gun and motioned for his team to do the same. The other players also lowered theirs. ¡°Thank you,¡± The player in the lead said. ¡°Where¡¯s my manners, I am Paul, we are from Sweden.¡± ¡°Luca, be careful.¡± Ana whispered. ¡°I am Luca, we have to be quick, they will follow us into the forest and definitely have more firepower than us. Come.¡± He turned around and expected Emile to have some objection but he kept quiet and fell in line. ¡°Come out, come out, wherever you are!¡± There followed laughters as the Crimson Regiment started searching for them. They could them cutting through the bushes, and instinctively Luca and team lowered down. Paul followed his example. Luca pushed deeper into the forest, looking back every few moments to make sure they were not in sight yet. Luca counted their party. 7 if he counts himself and Paul¡¯s party is 4. ¡°Paul, we have to make stand at some point. We can¡¯t run away from them forever. This forest is not big enough.¡± ¡°Maybe we could climb trees and shoot from above?¡± he suggested. Perfect, that could definitely work. Luca thought. The party clambered up into the trees and waited. They could still hear the bushes crushing underneath and then the Crimson Regiment revealed themselves. 6 players with red jackets and assault rifles walked underneath them. Luca could see Ana next to him wanting to cry with her lips pressed together. As he raised his gun and took aim, he saw Emile and Carlos do the same. He looked over to Paul¡¯s party and they had also taken aim at the players underneath them. ¡°Now!¡± Everyone fired at once dropping 5 of the 6 players below. Luca withdrew his knife and jumped down on top of the last survivor, knocking his weapon from his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, please, don¡¯t kill me.¡± Luca could hear fear in his voice as he held his knife to the players throat. ¡°Who is your leader? Where are you guys hiding?!¡± He yelled, starting to cut slowly towards his jugular. ¡°Ryan, Ryan Horne, he is son of the Elite¡¯s CEO. He is in Torat.¡± That doesn¡¯t make sense, why would the Elite have family members inside here. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me! Why would the Elite have some of their own family members in here?¡± ¡°Because we don¡¯t die in here like you do!¡± ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t die like us?¡± Ana asked from behind Luca. The man took a deep breath as Luca relaxed his arm around his neck. ¡°The Elite are treating this like a game. They have thousands of camera¡¯s around here and are broadcasting this to themselves. We are probably being watched right now. So when we die in game, we don¡¯t die in real life like the people from the rest of the world.¡± He rambled quickly. Before he could get another word in Luca drove his knife through his jugular, feeling warm blood spraying over his hand. The man went limp in his arms and disintegrated into smoke. Paul looked in shock at where the man was. ¡°You killed him Luca, just like that.¡± Luca¡¯s party looked at Paul. ¡°You heard him, they don¡¯t die like we do.¡± Luca turned to face the party. ¡°From today on, we are going to hunt these filth, and we are going to bring them down to our level. Anyone who does not want to kill the Crimson Regiment, feel free to leave, those who want to make a statement, you are welcome to stay.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ªUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The next two weeks were spent in the surrounding forest, they waged a guerrilla war on the city of Torat, luring Crimson parties into the forest and when it worked, mercilessly killing them. They studied their movements and post changes on the walls. They had gathered the weapons they could, and hid the vehicles in the forest. ¡°Luca, we are counting 15 rifles, 9 assault rifles and 20 pistols. We have all got a decent amount of experience the last few weeks. And upgrade our personal weapons with attachments. Maybe it is time we start looking at grenades?¡± Carlos asked. Emile had kept his distance from Luca but as long as he was following orders Luca did not want to press him. Luca opened up his shop interface, Total spendable experience: 21 000 He had been killing a lot of the players himself when others were too scared to kill them. Letting no one get away. He wanted to send a clear message to the Elite. He had removed thoughts of his family from his mind, only allowing himself to miss and think about them at night before he falls asleep. He had forced his mind into a state, where he does not allow himself to feel. Not for his family, not for his party, not for Ana. He had one goal. Obliterate the Elite. At night he dreamt about facing Ryan, and what would happen if he succeeds in killing him. He was obsessed, determined and driven and he had his party with him. That night, as he laid beneath the stars, he looked at the timer. It felt strange thinking they had been in this hellhole for over a month now. Ana whispered, ¡°Luca, I am coming off watch now, your turn.¡± He hadn¡¯t fell asleep yet and groaned. ¡°Okay Ana I¡¯m coming.¡± They had setup a sort of base camp in the forest, lining it up with vehicles and rocks to provide protection should they wake up into a firefight. Luca took his post on one of the roofs of a pickup truck. They had a clear view through the forest of the gates of Torat, always making sure they knew the movements of the Regiment. He unslung his AK from his shoulder which he had looted from one of the Regiments men and laid it across his lap. His party was sleeping all around him and he could hear their movements in the night. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The next morning he gathered his team, he had spent a good amount of time deciding what the next move it. They are not burning through the crimson regiment fast enough or making a big enough impact. They gathered their gear and got into the two trucks which they have stolen and made their way south towards Everport. They got onto the main road and Carlos floored the truck, they needed to make good time and he preferred not encountering another team in a vehicle on the road. It was still early morning and Luca could feel the cool breeze blowing in through the window. He had come up with plan to recruit players to help take down the Crimson Regiment. Luca held onto the roof as they sped over the bumps in the road. He glanced in the side mirror to make sure Emile was following with the others. He had put Emile, Ana and Tahashi with some of Paul¡¯s party on the other truck. While, Carlos, Asaka, Sumisu and the rest of Paul¡¯s party on theirs. As they drew closer to the bridge which crossed the Mistbrook channel, Luca could make out barricades on it. ¡°Whoa, slow down,¡± he told Carlos. ¡°They barricade the road, probably a checkpoint to introduce some kind of control.¡± On either side of the bridge were two large machine guns mounted on top of pick up trucks aimed at oncoming traffic. Men poured out around the trucks with their weapons raised. They all had different colors and Luca spotted one or two blue players between them as well. ¡°Lower your weapons!¡± A purple colored player in front shouted. Luca showed his companions to lower their weapons, and he slowly got out of the car. ¡°You are now under the Rule of Hussein. All weapons to remain unloaded, if you are found with a loaded gun you will be shot on sight.¡± The other party members looked at Luca, and he slowly unloaded his AK and his pistol on his side, stashing both magazines in his belt. ¡°Upon entering Everport you agree to adhere to all rules set by Hussein and should any of the rules be broken, they will be punished by death.¡± He continued. ¡°Understood,¡± Luca responded. Slowly two men started moving the barricades and he could see on the other side of the bridge more barricades were being moved. They two trucks slowly made their way across, and once they were waved clear Carlos sped up again. ¡°Seems like Everport is exactly where we will find what we need. Lots of bodies to take care of our Crimson problem.¡± Luca said. They entered the large city gates which were guarded by more mounted machine guns, and inside was a sprawling city, players trading and going about as if it was a normal day. His party had fallen into line behind him and he started walking down the road, amazed that it could such a different atmosphere in their deadly game. On top of the modernized building Luca could make out armed guards, keeping the fleeting peace inside Everport. They made their way to a square in the middle of the city, and the group was in awe of what they created. But at what cost. A crowd had gathered in the square, and Luca pushed through until he could see what was going on in the middle. Four men were kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and with bags over their heads. A large man was standing in front of them talking to the crowd. ¡°¡­ These four men decided to not uphold the peace, and were found guilty of carrying a loaded firearm. Which we all know, and have democratically agreed to is punishable by death.¡± Luca could see two blue players amongst the group. ¡°Please, if you will remove the bags.¡± The large man drew a M1911 from his holster, while another came and removed the masks. It revealed a light brown haired boy which suddenly looked very familiar to Luca. He started skirting along the crowd, panic rising in his throat and he tried to get a better view. As he walked along the crowd, the young face revealed a bloodied face, with deep gashes on the side of his head. But familiar features peeked through and that is when Luca realized. Jose. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 ¡°Jose!¡± Luca yelled out. The man next to Jose looked up as well and Luca recognized him as one of the cronies which bullied him. ¡°Jose, it¡¯s Luca!¡± Jose¡¯s bottom lip started quivering. ¡°What is happening Jose?¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to kill us Luca you have to stop him!¡± The large man with the pistol looked at Jose and where who he was talking to. With the butt of his gun he slammed Jose across his face. ¡°There are rules in this city! And it was your choice to break them!¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have any food left and nobody would give us any!¡± Jose yelled in response. He hit him again, sending him falling over backwards. ¡°Rules are rules. Time to meet your maker.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Luca yelled. The whole crowd looked at him, and luckily the big man as well. ¡°We are all stuck here, killing each other is not going to solve anything. The Crimson Regiment is sponsored by the Elite and so have massive advantages over us. We need everyone to work together, and maybe, just maybe we can come out of this alive.¡± ¡°Why should we listen to stranger?¡± The executioner questioned him. ¡°Because, we have spent the last month, tracking their movements and waging a war on them. We can show you everything, but we¡¯re going to need all everyone¡­¡± He paused. ¡°Alive.¡± The big man thought about what Luca had just told him and holstered his pistol. Luca breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°What is your name?¡± He asked Luca. ¡°Luca sir, am I correct to assume you are Hussein?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he looked to the crowd, ¡°This execution will not continue until further notice. Let us hear what he has to say.¡± He invited Luca onto the lifted surface. ¡°Everyone!¡± He started, ¡°We are prisoners of war inside this cocoon which the Elite has created. We were tricked into a death match when we were made to believe it is a way to riches, instead they have brought in experts of their own to kill us for entertainment purposes. They have been watching our every move, doing who knows what when one of us mere factory workers get killed. I do not want to be another number on the screen, and if you do. Then well, feel free to do as you wish. But should you want to make a stand against the Elite, then stand with me and we will show them what we are really made of!¡± The crowd roared in agreement. Luca turned to Hussein who had been listening intently. ¡°We cant do this without your numbers Hussein, tell us what we can do in return for you help. Please.¡± Seeing Luca had gained the crowds support, Hussein had no choice but to agree to Luca¡¯s plan. He invited Luca to his large apartment in one of the tall buildings. Inside with them were five armed armed guards watching his every move. Hussein went to sit at a large table in the middle and invited Luca to sit opposite him. ¡°So tell me everything. What did you guys do? How many people did it take? How many do you need?¡± ¡°Thank you so much for giving us a chance Hussein. Together I believe we can topple the Crimson regiment and find the Golden Katana. We have spent the last month fighting the Crimson Regiment from a forest near Torat. Which is north of here.¡± ¡°Ah Torat, I used to play there a lot in The Shadow Domain.¡± Hussein reminisced. ¡°I believe we can¡¯t win. I believe the odds are so stacked in the Crimson Regiments favor that we do not stand a chance and we are not expected to win. They do not die like we do when we die in game Hussein.¡± He looked at Hussein¡¯s face for a sign of shock but there was none. ¡°They just go back to the real world. We need to be in a position where the players call the shots and not the Elite anymore. We need to take control out of their hands. So I was thinking we do that by removing the Crimson Regiment from the game and not picking up the Katana. Until the game ends.¡± ¡°What happens when the game ends and no one picks up the Katana?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know honestly. But we have to have a little faith.¡± ¡°We are going to have a little faith in the Elite to safe us after they have tricked us into a deathmatch scenario, to then let us live because we dismantled their plan?¡± He said grudgingly. ¡°Well. Yes.¡± ¡°I guess we can¡¯t do anything else. This afternoon I will call a meeting, and allow anyone who wants to, to train with you and your group. You will show them your tactics and train them and once we are ready, we will launch an onslaught of attacks and hope it works.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª After the meeting, many people came forward at the chance of taking action against the Elite, even if it was only in game. Luca declared Paul, Ana, Carlos, Emile, and Tahashi his captains who will start training the new recruits, while Hussein and himself will start organizing scout parties and see where they could gain a tactical advantage. They drew out large maps of the area on the walls of Hussein¡¯s apartment and spent many hours discussing where who should be. Late that night, Hussein¡¯s guard showed Luca where he and his party could sleep, an apartment a few floors below his. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Luca said goodnight and retired to his room where sleep overwhelmed him quickly and took him too a deep slumber. The next day he met up with his captains and they spent the morning setting up a training routine. There were a lot more interest and they had to get more weapons. Luca spent all his experience points on rifles and handed them out and so did his captains. Jose was the first there and when Luca arrived he came running towards him. ¡°Thank you so much Luca, I know I didn¡¯t deserve it and you had every right to have me killed there.¡± ¡°Forget about it alright? No one deserves to die because got tricked into some cruel game.¡± As Jose finished thanking him he turned and walked away. ¡°Kiss-ass.¡± Ana muttered next to him. ¡°Oh good morning Ana, how are you feeling? Ready for this?¡± ¡°Yes Luca, But are you sure we can trust all these people?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to trust them, they just need to carry out the immediate orders. We¡¯ll worry about the rest later.¡± ¡°Okay, well I trust you Luca,¡± she gave him a hug and joined Carlos in front of the gathering crowd. He oversaw the trainings start and then when they seemed they were fine off on their own, he couldn¡¯t help but feel proud of himself and what he had created. Even if I die, this will be my way of avenging my father and Turner. Hussein called him over and he walked over. When he came close, Hussein said, ¡°You can go out with the hunting parties today, get some experience and clear your mind. Sometimes, it helps me focus on things and see it in a different light.¡± Luca liked the idea and agreed, he called for Ana and she was thrilled to go along with Luca and the party. ¡°What¡¯s south of Everport?¡± Luca asked as the map was empty. ¡°It¡¯s just a vast empty desert, some say it is for future expansions for the game, but it has been like that for many years. ¡°Odd,¡± Luka said as his mind wandered off. Ana spent most of the way talking about what Jose said when he joined them. Most of it was gibberish, but he knows they are torturing captives inside of Torat. ¡°Torturing? What for?¡± ¡°Information? I don¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t give a specific reason.¡± ¡°Luca, this is where our hunt starts. We¡¯ve never run into other parties, but the chance is always there. Most of the players get here by crossing the bridge, but it is possible passing on west on the otherside of the mountains, though, chances of surviving that far without food and water is scarce.¡± They got off their truck and Luca unslung his rifle from his shoulder. They walked south towards a large forest and he remembered Hussein talked about a forest with lots of creatures dwelling inside it. Ana stuck to his side, he appreciated it and enjoyed her company. It reminded him of the day they spent in town on their way down to Motril. They followed the group into the forest, staying low to the ground and listening for any sign of movement. The leader of the group, a short and skinny man with long blonde hair, held his hand up and pointed to something in front. He called Luca forward and showed him a beast in front of him. It was dark red with brown fur patches and two large buffalo like horns on its head. ¡°What is that?¡± Luca asked. ¡°It¡¯s a Rakdon,¡± Ana said from behind him. ¡°Very aggressive animals but can be tamed and used as a pack animal in the main game.¡± ¡°Or lots of meat for food.¡± The blonde man shrugged. ¡°Luca, do you want to shoot it?¡± Luca looked at the players around him. He was one of the youngest, but still felt like he had more experience than most. ¡°No, give someone else a chance.¡± Luca said. He called up one of the other players, a green player, and pointed at the beast. ¡°Remember what they taught you at the academy, line up the sights and squeeze the trigger gently.¡± He did as asked and with a loud BANG! the large beast¡¯s legs gave way and it fell to the ground. The man patted the shooter on his shoulder and congratulated him on a good shot. The beast disintegrated and left a pile of loot on the floor consisting of meat and hides. The shooter picked it up and they continued their trip south. The forest was alive and Luca saw plenty of flauvil¡¯s hopping from tree to tree and they seem like quite a common species over here. ¡°Luca, I¡¯ve been thinking about your proposal to train our men and conduct an attack on Torat, and want to offer my services as a tracker and scout. I have experience in here and in Shadow Domain for hunting bosses and players, so I could be an asset to your project. And I still kind of want to mean something in my life.¡± The blonde man looked at his feet. Luca put his hand on his shoulder. ¡°First tell me your name.¡± ¡°Isak.¡± ¡°Very well, I will be honored to have you on our side.¡± Luca had grown quite a liking for the guy, as he was always helping and showing, explaining why he is performing his current actions. He was quick on his feet and handled his firearm well. After a few successful hunts they returned to Everport, where players were sitting around and discussing the days training. Luca and Ana met up with Emile and Carlos and they gave them a rundown of what had been done during the day. ¡ª¡ª¡ª They trained the men for a week and Luca spent many hours with Hussein in his apartment, going over plans and maps which had been scouted out by Isak and his party. After they had practiced all the plans out, and took a headcount of the available soldiers, Luca concluded they will have 385 men to do a large assault with. The following night, the party gathered all of their gear and vehicles and headed out across the bridge. Initially Luca told Ana she should stay in the base but she wouldn¡¯t listen. ¡°We are playing with our lives here Ana, who knows what could happen.¡± Luca had told her. ¡°Exactly, who knows what could happen, you don¡¯t even know what could happen to you.¡± He wasn¡¯t able to come up with a counterargument and in the end she came along. They drove along the edge of the forest, out of sight from the Torat city gates and with the vehicles lights switched off. The climbed off and spread out along the edge of the forest. Luca¡¯s heart started hammering in his throat and he took Ana¡¯s hand and gave it a squeeze and felt her hand tighten around his as well. ¡°Ready?¡± Luca looked at Ana. She returned a determined nod. A long line of vehicles started driving towards the gates with the soldiers walking behind them for cover. Luca had bought RPGs with some of his experience points for the gates, and he saw the soldiers on the backs of the pickups with them in their arms. When they were able to make out the torches on the gates, he blew three times on a carved wooden whistle, and the line lit up as RPGs were fired at the gate. Woosh.