Capítulo 29: Conscience
Somewhere in the white cube, a handsome youth and a stunning young woman exchanged words as they devised a strategy to reap their benefits from the six-hour break.
Previously, Bryan apologized for testing Sophia, but he needs to know Sophia's feelings, on whether she can be trusted or not, and if she could be a threat to the team.
Sophia is an empathetic person who understands what's at stake in this situation, thus she was comfortable with Bryan's actions. As she, too, would not want a hidden variable that may have an impact on the team. Especially if you have no notion what the other person is thinking. And the thought of someone possibly betraying you occupies heavily on your mind, leading you to lose concentration. Such a thing is dangerous during a fight and can hinder coordination.
In the process of developing a strategy together, Sophia checked on Bryan's injuries since, from her perspective, they looked horrible, and not for long, he would soon suffer from a surge of weakness in his body, which is caused by blood loss.
Despite the fact that he had been pierced, producing small holes in his skin, she was astounded to observe that everywhere he had been harmed had already stopped bleeding.
"How amazing is his body's regeneration? Is this perhaps what that serpent gave to Bryan? A body that can mend wounds faster than the average person? Then he just won a massive jackpot." Sophia pondered inwardly while feeling his injuries with her fingers.
"You're taking a long time assessing my injuries, Sophia, is there something wrong?"
"Nothing at all. not long from now, You'll be back in fine form in no time, however, you should change your clothing; you look like you've been bathed in blood, and plainly, people are terrified of you; and finding teammates would be much more difficult if they saw you in your present state."
When Bryan heard those remarks, he nodded and answered,
"Of course, you don't have to worry; I'll take care of everything."
Following that, he willed his Hidden Book to appear before him, as he noticed individuals looking blankly as if in a trance, which can only indicate when they're reading their Hidden Book.
Bryan quietly called out to Sophia, tilting his head in the direction of those folks, and she immediately looked in that way.
She saw that those people's attitudes were grave and scared as if they were scared of what was to come.
She immediately understood and willed her Hidden Book to materialized in front of her, skipping through the pages until she spotted the flashing red page, and in her vision, she saw a large red number that was locked in place.
[Game: Unkown???]
[Time Remaining: 6:00 hours]
In her view, she couldn't figure out why the number had been frozen in place. Yet, not a moment later, her heart skipped a beat and she was seized with panic when she remembered what Mister Pyg had told them about assembling all the people in a single place.
Then the only way that large number might be frozen is if the number of participants was still not satisfied and a few more persons were required to start the game, and clearly, others were still absent.
She then looked at Bryan and saw him nodding to her in understanding, which upon seeing that, she immediately drew in a mouthful of cold air.
It's horrifying to think about competing against tens of thousands of people in an all-out war inside the arena; all those people murdering each other would be absolute brutality. The ground would turn crimson and form little puddles of blood, and the odor would be so bad that simply breathing it would poison the human body.
While she was daydreaming, Bryan on the other hand, reflected on what he read a while back about how those who scavenged in a great battle in ancient times are sick and have frail bodies, knowing that since their work was searching for treasures in a cluster of dead bodies, then the poison must have slowly accumulated inside them.
Scavengers would crowd around the bodies as moths pulled into a fire because it was a tremendous chance where they could quickly become wealthy, and when there is a battle, they fought tooth and nail, until they got what they desired.
The scavengers, are just concerned with the immediate gain and do not consider the long-term implications of coming into touch with dead bodies.
Due to their grievances, the dying souls on the battlefield would be unable to rest in peace and would linger in the spot where they died. That is why, in ancient times, prayer monks may be found on the battlefield after a major conflict, alongside scavengers, to enable the spirits of the dead to rest in peace.
Technically, in this upcoming game, Bryan thought that they would both essentially become scavengers, by plundering other people's loot, clothes, and food in order to live.
The idea of the both of them combined would make no difference in a fight of this magnitude, and the thought of becoming an insignificant nobody who might be slain at any time filled him with fear; and such, he then recommended to Sophia that they add additional members for protection.
Hearing that proposition, Sophia's expression became solemn and immediately agreed to it, as it's a feasible plan. As she feared they'd die if it was just the two of them.
She thought that even if just a dozen people are attacking them, they will be slaughtered like lambs. They'd be killed effortlessly.
Sophia was about to ask Bryan what the conditions required for joining their team when their chat was cut short by a loud yell, which could be heard above hundreds of individuals chatting to one other. It sounded desperate and heartbreaking.
"Hello, please accept my apologies for disturbing you, but have you seen my daughter? Can you help me in finding her? She's just 13 this year, so if you see her, please contact me immediately."
A disheveled middle-aged man grabbed people's hands and pleaded, begging as though his life depended on it, as he's soaked in sweat and was weeping excessively. The thought of his daughter being alone and defenseless in this harsh environment bothers him incessantly.
The two saw that this scruffy middle-aged man would not stop pleading, as he was continually traveling about in hopes of hearing from his daughter.
The middle-aged man is extremely concerned for her daughter's safety; the prospect of a tiny girl left alone playing these horrible games is distressing enough, and he believes she will be abused by a slew of nasty individuals, forcing her to do things she does not want to do.
Her daughter has no idea that society is full of malicious people since she grew up in a carefree environment with a father who loved and cared for her as if she were the most important thing in the world.
He spoiled her every day and he knew that all she lived was a life full of sunshine and rainbows; even earlier that day, she had even asked him for permission to get a boyfriend and had a temper tantrum in the house when he refused.
Recalling that adorable face while she was upset was ingrained in his mind, creating in him a sense of determination that he would not give up until he found his daughter.
Bryan and Sophia gazed at the disheveled man in complete heartache, s both of them understood what he was going through. However, they all have their own problems, and helping a stranger when they don't even know how they'll survive the next game is overestimating themselves.
"It's too bad the guy is going nuts."
"He's been at it for a few minutes already, and the way I see it, he's only becoming increasingly deranged."
Several murmurs can be heard as hundreds of people gossip.
A few seconds passed and as Bryan predicted, the people around that middle-aged man seemed to flee him like a plague, all wearing nervous looks and shaking their heads, unable to help him. It's not just him who has problems, but they also have a multitude of them.
Seeing that change, the middle-aged man is not discouraged by it, rather he continued to seek even more help from others; and if he is rejected, he sought help from another individual.
He swore that he would not stop until he had safely snatched her little angel into his embrace. In a never-ending loop, he raced around calling her name and begging.
.....
As time passed, though Sophia had the notion of every man for himself, yet, she isn't wholly callous, and couldn't bear seeing this scruffy middle-aged gentleman cry down for much longer since it reminded her of her mum.
So she made up her mind and sat up, striding towards that middle-aged man in hopes of trying to help him.
Seeing her stupid behavior, Bryan quickly got hold of Sophia's arms demanding, "What exactly are you doing? We're not in a position to help others; we don't even know whether we'll survive! Stop letting your emotions get to you. Look around you, they're fleeing as if he was a plague. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm simply urging you not to do something dumb and to take a moment to consider whether what you're doing is correct."
Feeling her arm being grabbed, she responded, "What do you mean? I'm just trying to recruit him, I'm not letting my emotions get the best out of me. I'm just saying, what if he may be of some use to us?"
"This isn't a kid's game, Sophia! we might really die if we were careless; I understand how you feel, but this is not the time to feel sorry for yourself and offer some help. A part of me really wanted to help as well, but I'm thinking about the big picture."
"I know our situation is dire, but I'm not pitying him; I'm really just trying to scout him in joining the team," Sophia responded.
Upon realizing that she made up her mind, Bryan hesitated and gritted his teeth, he then let go of Sophia's arm and shook his head in displeasure, realizing that she's trying to help others when they're not even sure they'll survive the next game.
But what has been done is done. He couldn't persuade her to change her mind, he also can't change the fact that he also felt pity for that man, but he hardened his heart and wanted to push past it, but alas, his partner seems to be a little too soft-hearted.
"Excuse me, sir," Sophia said as she approached the man and touched him on the shoulder, "how about you come with me and let me help you with your problems?"
The middle-aged man was stunned that someone offered to help him; he then turned around and couldn't believe what he saw; he had been begging for a few minutes now, walking around the white cube looking for her daughter, and this was the first time anybody had spoken to him.
His heart swelled with delight as he caught Sophia's arm and hurriedly asked, "Have you seen her?" She stands about 1.60m tall and is dressed in the typical Wisdom School uniform.
Sophia was taken aback and almost immediately attempted to draw her hand out, but she soon understood that he was just concerned for her daughter and had no intention of harming her in any way.
She was a little uneasy about a middle-aged man weeping in front of her and clutching her hands tightly. If this had been in the outside world, it would have been like he was confessing to her, a man of the same age as her father confessing to a twenty-year-old college student. It would surprise a lot of people.
The middle-aged man seems to know that he made her uncomfortable and releases her hand while attempting to wipe his tears away. "I'm sorry, young lady, I got a little carried away; I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all; I get what you're going through; everything is fine." Sophia laughed to ease the awkwardness and motioned her hands to follow her. "Would you like to accompany me? We could help you out."
The middle-aged man paused briefly before continuing. "If what you're saying is true, it would be fantastic, thank you very much," the middle-aged man thought of this young woman as a nice girl and thanked her profusely.
Sophia motioned to not thank her too much and headed back to where Bryan is, and the middle-aged man trailed her from behind. The duo became the center of attention as a result of this minor commotion. Sophia, in particular, is a beautiful girl that arouses intense passion in men.
All of a sudden, a tall, handsome man emerged from the crowd and stood in front of them, his black hair slicked back and a smile formed on his lips, looking as dashing as ever. In worry, he asked, "Pardon me miss; would you like to join our group? Seeing that you're alone, we would like to offer you a spot. Well If you don't mind, I could also help you out."
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