Chương 42: A long, long, slide to the bottom
Eo checked the tattered map. Apparently a clothing store was supposed to be somewhere around 45th Street. There were smoking craters in place of some of the buildings, so Eo was terrified he might not be able to change. So Eo started walking up and down the street, scanning the region for any signs that were clothing-related.
That's when Eo saw the giant billboard, cut in half, that read, "-THING STORE: GREAT VALUE". It was the building Eo had been searching for.
Eo saw the locked employee door. Because half the building was a smoking crater, Eo simply walked around the doorframe. He could officially call himself a store worker now.
Entering the premises, Eo searched for his favorite brand of black T-shirts and pants. After locating them, he stuffed as many as he could into his backpack. He didn't care whether or not his wardrobe was the most boring thing in the world. He had his amazing Auvelax-branded clothes. If anything could cure his sad state of mind, it would have to be owning 15 pairs of Auvelax clothing.
Crawling out of the bathrooms were a dozen small Goblin-type Phase Is. Smelling their stink, Eo was reminded to bring toiletries with him as well. Eo grabbed a new toothbrush, some underwear, and some toilet paper. Then he murdered all of the Goblin-types.
Eo was about to walk out of the store when he got sidetracked by what appeared to be a toy car. It wasn't any toy car, though. It was the special 10-year anniversary edition of Eo's favorite car model when he was 6.
And it was golden.
Eo bolted for it.
The moment his hands made contact with it, there was a strange clicking sound. The floor gave way, and Eo fell through a trapdoor.
"AHHHHH!"
Eo screamed… in his head. He was too tired to move his mouth, so he imagined he was screaming instead.
Eo had fallen into a tube that curved in every direction possible. It was like going down one of those playground slides, if playground slides were in the shape of roller coaster tracks.
After 10 minutes of painful butt-scraping, the tube Eo was riding in finally flattened out. Eo slowly grinded to a halt and then cautiously stepped out into a large underground chamber. Dazzling lights blinded him.
"OUR NEWEST CONTESTANT IN FOUR YEARS! EVERYONE, PLEASE WELCOME THEM TO… POWER BATTLES!!!"
☆
Eo's eye twitched, staring at a large man screaming into a megaphone while making a sweeping gesture at an empty set of chairs. Eo wasn't sure what to make of the public announcement, since there was no substantial audience to speak of.
"Um, excuse me?" Eo was pretty annoyed. "Is this the application area?"
The person with the really loud voice answered Eo.
"Yes, yes indeed! So you came here on purpose!"
"Actually, no. I made sure not to come."
"What do you mean by that?"
Eo pulled out his tattered map. Then he pulled out the brochure.
"Where are we?" Eo jabbed a finger to the department store. "Life & Clothing Store: Great Value. Right?!"
The loud guy nodded.
Eo continued. "Where is that? 45th Street and 29th Avenue."
The loud guy nodded.
Eo continued. "Where is this?" Eo jabbed a finger on the brochure. "Apply here: 48th Street and 29th Avenue. Right?!"
The loud guy coughed. He turned to someone else. "Hey, when did we design this brochure?"
"Uhh, like four years ago?"
"That explains why no one came in four years…"
Eo facepalmed. It also explained why the scientists couldn't find the arena.
Eo was about to go back up when he suddenly a cold metallic band snapped onto his wrist.
"Sorry, bud", the loud guy said. "No leaving until you've played your fair share of hours."
Eo tried to climb back up the tube, but the entrance suddenly solidified, glowing red. The metal band also flashed red.
"Wh-what? That's kinda rude, you know." Eo wasn't in the mood to fight other people involuntarily.
"Don't worry!' The loud guy's friend said. "After winning 5 matches we'll let you explore some more of the underground complex! And after 20, we'll let you look above the surface!"
Both of them laughed as Eo started synthesizing a dagger-chain.
Eo's weapon flicked out behind his back and lunged into their ankles. Right before contact, however, a loud crack could be heard. Eo's dagger skittered away.
The loud dude narrowed his eyes and looked at Eo.
"Kid, you know what sound is? It's the pressure wave of a medium, like air. I can snap fingers and remove your head from your shoulders."
Eo's mouth felt dry. This person really wasn't joking. He wasn't as dimwitted or as slow as Eo had hoped, either. His only option was to play along.
"Fine", Eo admitted. "Where can I start?"
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