—Chapter 28—

—The Straggler—

The TV continued to play footage, and Bitso waved his arms around with the energy of three teenagers, but Kellan heard nothing. His thoughts fought with each other to take priority, and his grogginess wasn’t helping anything.

A game of chance?

Sen had specifically said we weren’t going to play any chance games… Kellan gritted his teeth, his thoughts dwelling on the fact his cursed armor would cause him to dramatically fail a game of chance at the least opportune moment. Maybe I should try to trigger the curse before we play any games.

The other problem was the issue of “the Straggler.” What was that? Levvy had mentioned it earlier, out in the mana spa. Kellan had been too distracted by the rejuvenating effects to ask pertinent follow up questions.

As if Bitso could read his thoughts, the bizarre, blindfolded man pointed to the screen behind him.

“Remember, each team must designate one of their members as the Straggler.” Bitso smiled, showing his sharper-than-average teeth. “The leader can never be chosen for this role. And once the Straggler is chosen, there is no way to remove the designation. Well, except through death. Once the Straggler dies, another member of the team is designated, all the way until the leader runs out of teammates…”

Mavis walked over to Kellan, a hand tangled in her purple hair. “What was happening with that bed? I swear it knocked me out.”

“Yeah,” Kellan muttered. “It did.”

“The last winner of the Nexus Games lost each one of her members, one by one,” Bitso said as he rubbed at his chin. “If I recall correctly, the Straggler on her team always died during the bonus rounds. Up until she didn’t have a team left.” He laughed and slammed his fist on the metal table. “She played the last game alone and somehow won the whole thing. Amazing.”

Xiang and Sen’s mother.

Kellan watched the TVs in the background, hoping to glean to just a little more information. What did the games look like? How did the Stragglers die? Kellan wanted more knowledge, but it seemed like everything was determined to keep it from him.

The Nexus denizens had been forthcoming with info. Kellan had asked a question, and they had answered.

They had even known all about the gold arcana…

And not even Sen or Xiang seem to know anything about that.

Kellan tightened his hands into fists. As soon as I get the chance, I should search for more Nexus citizens. Maybe they can tell me what’s going on. If I just knew a bit more…

“So each team has a leader,” Mavis said as she turned to Kellan. “And the leader gets to pick everything that happens to the team?”

He nodded once.

“And each team has a Straggler? And that member is… the unlucky one? Who gets hunted by monsters or has to participate in the chance games? Until they die?”

Kellan nodded again. “And then a new Straggler is chosen.”

“But… why?”

“To cull the weakest players out of the team,” Kellan muttered, more to himself than to Mavis. “From what I’ve seen, the strongest player is the leader, and if they die, the whole team automatically loses. But if the Straggler is killed, nothing happens other than a new Straggler is chosen, all the way until it’s the leader left. This is a game mechanic solely meant to kill off people.”

“That’s sadistic.” Mavis crossed her arms and then uncrossed them, her nervous energy infectious.

Kellan shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants in order to keep from moving around too much. He glanced over his shoulder at the bed, and caught sight of his rifle. Had he put it there? He couldn’t remember unslinging it from his shoulder.

The blankets had basically hypnotized him.

Kellan grabbed his weapon, threw the strap over his shoulder, and kept it close. Supposedly, the first game would start in less than thirty minutes. He didn’t want to be caught flatfooted.

Then he gave the blankets a second glance. They hadn’t hurt him—they had caused him to fall asleep. And then once he had awoken, he could leave them.

Seemed useful. But how could he utilize them? Even touching the blankets caused him to start making willpower checks. If he could somehow use them against other people…

“Kellan?” someone from the main room yelled.

Finally awake and ready, Kellan exited the bedroom with purpose. Husker was waiting in the gigantic front room, standing by one of the black leather couches. He had several piles of clothes and bags, separated into four stacks. With a motion of his clawed hand, he pointed to a pile with cargo pants, a jacket, and a tactical backpack.

“For you,” Husker said. His fox-ears twitched as he added, “I guessed at your size, but I thought you’d appreciate this.”

Kellan wandered over to the clothing. A pair of socks and a pair of shooting gloves were under the pants.

“You got these for me?” he asked.

Husker slowly nodded. “The first game is about to begin. We’ll only be allowed to take what we’re wearing, so please change.”

Only take what they’re wearing?

Kellan picked up the backpack. “If we have supplies inside the pack, we can use those, too?”

“That’s right.”

Thankful for the supplies, Kellan gave the man a nod and then hurried back to the bedroom. Mavis watched him with a lifted eyebrow as Kellan ripped off the blankets and sheets from the massive bed.

“Husker has new clothes for us,” he said. “You should change. The first game starts at 9am. We should be ready.”

“All right,” Mavis said. She walked out of the room, but she glanced over her shoulder several times, watching Kellan manhandle the bedding. “Don’t take too much time with that.”

Kellan examined the sheets. They had the same dreamweaver effect as the blankets. With quick movements, he grabbed the sheets, folded them up, and then shoved them into the backpack before he could succumb to the ill effects.

Then he ripped off his shredded jeans, and kicked off his bloody boots. He changed into his new clothing, thankful they had someone on the team who was concerned with keeping them well-geared.

Kellan glanced around the room. The TV continued, even as Kellan tried to find something else he could use in the games. Unfortunately, nothing else in the room seemed useful. No weapons. No other magical items.

“—and once the games begin, I’ll be announcing each winning team, each death, each bonus round gained, and each challenge round found.” Bitso slammed his hand on the desk again, drawing Kellan’s attention. “Last Nexus Games, the bonus rounds really played a huge difference in the winning team. Obviously, most of the mages at the beginning of the games are weaker—barely any magic, limited arcana gain—but the bonus rounds change all that.”

Kellan stared at the TV, waiting to hear the catch. He needed more arcana, that much he was certain, but he wasn’t entirely sure the best way to go about collecting it was.

“Those who compete in the bonus rounds often find themselves flush in arcana.” Bitso turned to his imaginary co-anchor and waited, as though in the middle of a conversation. The silence grated at Kellan’s nerves, but right before he looked away, Bitso threw his head back in a laugh. “Yes! That’s right. Those bonus rounds are more for the clever, and less for the brute. The Arbiter loves his puzzles.”

With some sheets packed in his backpack, Kellan exited the bedroom. Husker remained in the middle of the room. All piles of clothing had disappeared, and everyone else was near the front door, new clothing and packs in hand.

Xiang and her brother mumbled to each other, speaking in whispered words, but fast and sharp enough that told Kellan it wasn’t a pleasant conversation.

Mavis walked over to Kellan, her new clothing—a thick jacket, blue jeans, and snow boots—fit perfectly. She gave him the once-over. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “But do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Mavis held her breath.

Besides the shushed argument of Xiang and Sen, there was nothing. Even Husker’s breathing was louder than anything else.

“Not even birds,” Kellan muttered. “It’s just… quiet.”

One of Husker’s ears turned to face Kellan before the rest of his canine face. “There’s blood in the air. Even though this is an Oasis… someone has brought a corpse to this place. Perhaps more than one.”

The room—the suite—and Kellan’s bedroom, were spotless. What was Husker smelling?

Xiang held up a hand and her brother silenced himself. When she stepped forward, everyone turned to face her.

“Before we start the first game, we need to determine who will be the Straggler,” she said. “I’ve decided it will be Husker.”

The werewolf offered a low growl from his throat. “I thought you wanted me close to you at all times.”

“The reason I picked you was because of your power, not because I want you dead.” Xiang threw back some of her long, perfect hair. “The Kuji won’t stand a chance against your ability, which means we won’t have to worry about losing a member of our team during the first game.”

Mavis held up a hand.

Momentarily confused, Xiang stared at her. Then she motioned to Mavis. “Do you have a question?”

“How many games are there?” she asked as she put her hand down.

“There are ten rounds to the Nexus Games. After two rounds, there’s always a challenge, for a grand total of fifteen chances to gain keys.” After a long sigh, Xiang clarified, “We need a number of keys equal to our team members. Even if one of you die, we will always need five keys in order to win the games. Unfortunately, most teams do not find keys during the games. The chaos, danger, and traps tend to deter weaker mages. Or they die. Either way, if we manage to go five rounds, and get five keys, we will be the first ever to do it.”

“Wait, so there’s a chance we might not find the key?” Mavis asked.

Sen scoffed. “Of course. Imagine if we pick the door game for this round. Out of four doors, only one has a key. And if we picked wrong, the game would be over, and we’d have nothing. Or perhaps a dead teammate. Then we’d head into the second round of games without a key.”

“So, if we don’t get keys for seven rounds, we’ll have basically lost.” Kellan walked closer to the suite’s front door. Then he shot Sen a glare. “And I thought you said there weren’t any games of chance during the Nexus Games? What’s wrong with you?”

“We’re not going to pick those games.” Sen threw one of his small arms into the air. “It’s a fool’s errand to take any games of chance. First off, a 25% chance to win is terrible. Secondly, there’s no chance to gain arcana during those games. We need all the magical power we can get, so obviously we want the other games.”

Mavis stepped close to Kellan. “Are we going to join the PvE game? Or the PvP game?”

“Player versus Environment,” Xiang answered matter-of-factly. “We’re much too weak to handle some of the other teams. And…”

“And some of them are gunning for you?” Kellan asked, sardonic and dry.

“Yes.”

Xiang motioned for Husker. “Come. That’s the second reason you must be our team’s Straggler. Brenner has promised me that he’ll kill our team, one by one. He’ll assume whoever I designate as Straggler is the weakest—which means he’ll target you first if he ever gets the chance.”

Husker walked to her, his tail swishing. “And you want me to kill him the moment I can?”

She smiled. “Just like we discussed. Once Brenner is dead, his whole team will fail. And after that, we won’t have anything to worry about for the rest of the game.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Then Husker lifted his left clawed hand—the number 101 marked his red fur. Xiang brought her own marked hand up to his. Once they touched, Husker gained an additional mark.

A skull.

It looked like the skull of a dog, and it appeared under the 101.

“You’re the Straggler,” Xiang said as she removed her hand. “Thank you, my friend.”

Husker bowed his head. “Thank you for helping me overcome this terrible hex.”

“The games are about to start,” Sen said. “Have you picked the game we’ll participate in?”

“I wish to speak with the Arbiter first,” Xiang stated. She turned for the door. “Once I’ve spoken to him, I’ll finalize our decision.”

“What happens once you pick?” Kellan asked.

“We’ll be teleported to the game arena and locked under the Net. Then we’ll be trapped there until we find a key, or until the allotted time is up.”

Kellan rubbed at his knuckles as he mulled over the information. They didn’t have any food or water with them—at least, not that he knew of. If the game lasted 24 hours, wouldn’t they need supplies? Perhaps I can gather something while Xiang speaks with the dragon.

With a flick of her hand, Xiang opened the door to their suite.

Mavis flinched away, and Sen’s eyes went wide. As Kellan stepped forward, he noticed Husker’s fur was standing on end.

The hallway…

Kellan held his breath as he exited the suite. The entire corridor smelled of copper and flesh. Blood was smeared over the rugs and walls.

Two bodies were lying on the floor. Kellan recognized them both.

Hua and Twi. The two children he had saved in the alleyway. They had been cut up, and their insides thrown around the hall.

A message had been written on the wall in their dark-crimson blood.

It read:

Join the PvP game or else

“Who did this?” Mavis asked from within the suite.

Sen stared at the floor. “Brenner.”