The last statement brought about an outrageous response.
Some even stood up and openly cursed the Systems for taking things too far. The Systems ignored them completely and continued with their instructions.
All Candidates will be dropped on the island randomly in pods. The timer of 7 days will start at the opening of these pods.
A basic Survival Kit will be issued to all Candidates. All data relating to the Kit is available in the Tablets as well.
Tablets are perishable and sophisticated pieces of equipment. They have a map of the entire island with key points marked on it, along with many other uses. Candidates cannot exchange points with each other, but killing Candidates will grant a fourth of their points to the murderer. (-the atmosphere within the white hall suddenly became cold-)
1. Inventories will be locked after the start of the Timer. Candidates are advised to take out their necessary Items and things from Inventory before the opening of the pods
2. A onetime privilege of giving up the Tournament is now granted to all Candidates. If opted, a Candidate must say clearly "I give up" for the Systems to freeze the relevant Time Node and extract the Candidate out. The candidacy for further Stages will stand forfeited thenceforth
The Normalized Attributes are:
As the words had reached the screen's bottom, all Candidates waited for the Stats to appear with bated breath.
Only Kai's face was relaxed, for he already knew the devastating blow the consciousness of these Contestants would suffer in the next moment.
"Who the hell is still alive with that LUCK?!!"
The corners of Kai's mouth twitched wryly.
After the briefing and the curses, the Systems had directed them towards a corridor, at the end of which there was a cylindrical room. These were the pods that would take them to the island.
Kai saw a woman entering the pod, and then its sliding door closed itself. In the next moment, the cylindrical pod slid down, and a new pod took its place. The process repeated itself two more times before Kai's turn finally arrived.
As the sliding door opened, he entered and looked around. Behind him, the door closed, and he could already feel the pod sliding downwards.
The pod's diameter was bigger than Kai's outstretched hands, he noticed. And it was completely white and empty.
The voices echoed suddenly.
[[Candidate Red, stand at the center of the pod.]]
Kai followed the instruction, approached the central area, and stood straight.
A gentle force then appeared in his surroundings, pressuring him inward. It seemed like a holding mechanism in place of the usual straps and chairs.
[[Brace for the impact in 9... 8...]]
Interesting! Kai thought, gritting his teeth. No weightlessness.
A tremendous shaking of the white casing of the pod followed the countdown. The gentle force around Kai tried hard to keep him in place, but he still slid left and right like a leaf for a few seconds.
The force vanished, and a new message appeared along with the voice.
All pods throughout the island will open together after an allowance period of 1 hour.
Candidates can familiarize themselves with the Survival Kit and use their Inventory freely within this time.
Once the pod opens up, Candidates will lose the privilege to ask questions to the Systems.
A timer of 1 hour appeared in front of Kai on the white wall, and a sliding noise reached his ears from behind.
Kai turned around and saw a brown backpack lying on the floor. He sat down near it, and one by one checked its contents.
It had a water bottle and food. Kai estimated it would last him three days if he would be frugal with it. Then it had a mass-produced, Common-graded knife. An insect net and insect repellent. A sewing and fishing kit. 2 HP Capsules giving 50 points each. It also had matches, timber, and a flashlight.
At last, Kai's eyes landed on the Tablet.
The Tablet was around 15 cm long and 8 cm wide, and its screen was all black. Kai looked for any buttons, but couldn't find one. He turned it over. There was a circular depression on the cover.
Kai nodded to himself and pressed his thumb. The Tablet came alive, filling the white pod with bright colors.
The name flashed and disappeared.
It had a few icons on the home screen itself. Map, Points Distribution, and Points Tally had the biggest icons. At the bottom, there were three icons lined up, but in a smaller size.
Messages, Clock, and Camera, Kai read and smiled. Don't tell me the Systems want us to treat the Stage as a vacation? Haha! Now that's amusing.
Ignoring everything else, Kai tapped on the Points Distribution.
A document opened up, with names, numbers, and points.
1. Ovomorph (egg) - 1000 — Points: 1 each
2. Warriors - 20 — Points: 5 each
3. Queenguards - 4 — Points: 50 each
4. Queen - 1 — Points: 300
1. Un-Blooded - 10 — Points: 5 each
2. Young Blood - 2 — Points: 30 each
3. Blooded - 1 — Points: 100
Hmm, Kai brooded over the data, squinting his eyes. The numbers of Yautja are significantly lower than the Xenomorph. Is it related to their hunting behavior? If I am to take the points as a measure of strength, then both Blooded and the Queen are strongest among their species.
Kai then went back and tapped the map. It showed an aerial view of the island with terrain, and a blue dot flashed on it, marking Kai's position. He was somewhere southeast on the island, it seemed.
He then opened the Messages, and found a list of Tablets, numbered 1 to 100, written there.
Does this mean Candidates can contact each other? Kai asked, tapping his fingers on the floor. He again nodded to himself and opened the Camera now. After checking out the quality, Kai put the Tablet on one side.
-Selene,- he hissed. -Come out.-
A silver mist burst out of him, taking the form of a 6 ft long, lean serpent. Her third eye was shut, and her white, dragon-like scales gleamed with black and yellow ripples as she slithered up to him.
-We both are hungry, master,- she hissed thoughtfully. -Best would be to eat as much as we can before going out.-
Kai agreed. Darcie had to eat a limited and proper amount in Malfoy Manor. And it was nowhere enough to kill his monstrous hunger. The result was that he was always hungry in between the Identity Periods. Not to mention, he couldn't let Selene out and hunt for prey herself.
But that would change soon, Kai reflected, recalling his plans for Selene.
The Ghost Basilisk had more to add, though.
-Only if I could do anything for your mental issues,- Selene hissed affectionately. -I feel like Meg, master. Useless.-
For the second time today, the twitch danced on Kai's lips, fiercer than before.