Romulus is a very tall dark skinned man. He has brown eyes and is bald. He is wearing a suit.
Romulus: "Why's everyone so tense? We're not trying to kill you haha! Anyway, I'm just here to supervise the next part so don't be nervous. Hey, you there!"
Random participant: "Me?"
Romulus: "Yes you. Come up here for me."
The random participant walks up to Romulus.
Random participant (in head): "Why does it feel like I'm getting smaller?!"
Romulus towers over him as they stand next to each other. Romulus puts his hand on his shoulder.
Romulus: "How are you? How'd you feel about the first part?"
Random participant: "Uhhhh... it was fine, I guess."
Romulus: "That's good to hear. Would you mind spinning the wheel behind me?"
Random participant: "Uhhh.. maybe I shou- aah!"
Romulus: "I hate asking twice. But you might've not heard me clearly. So I'll ask again. Can you spin the wheel behind me?"
Random participant: "O... OK"
Romulus: "Good."
Romulus smiles and pulls his hand back.
The random participant spins the wheel. Kassius sees Arnold and walks towards him.
Kassius: "Psst. Arnold."
Arnold looks to the side. He sees Kassius sneaking up towards him. Kassius stops next to him.
Kassius: "Time for the second part. You ready?"
Arnold: "Yeah, pretty much."
Kassius: "Isn't this new guy kind of odd?"
Arnold: "I'm not sure, to be honest."
The wheel stops.
Romulus: "Oh? 'Pain or Gain'. Very glad I chose to come out for this one. But before we start, I'd like to ask you two to come up here."
Romulus points towards two other random guys. He gives them an irritated look. They rush over to the front. Romulus puts his hands on their shoulders.
Romulus: "Now I know it can get boring just standing and listening but it's important you hear everything. I'm pretty sure you should be familiar with this by now. But don't be nervous, I won't kick you out of the test like Principal would. I'm a generous guy. I understand the difficulty of this. So I'll let you off with a warning for now. Don't do that again, alright?"
They nod and walk back to where they were standing. Romulus looks at Kassius and Arnold intensely.
Romulus: "As I was saying, it's time for the second part. Weak or strong, you will all be tested on your ability by a fight against others. Bloodshed isn't uncommon in this test. People do die. But this isn't a bad thing. Combat is the essence of survival. I'll explain the situation. You are sixty people currently. I've decided that there will be six different sets. Each set will contain ten people. Your objective is to take out as many people as you can in your set."
Person 1: "Um... by take out, do you mean..."
Romulus: "Oh. Hahaha! No, don't worry. You're not obliged to kill someone. Incapacitating them is enough. However, just because you're in sets, does not mean there are six different battles. All will be held at once. You are just to prioritise the people in your set as your targets. They will be the only way you can get points. It will be a battle royale of sorts. But if I'm being honest, I don't want to hold it here.I'm not feeling this environment is good enough. I want to make this feel more survival-like. So we'll be travelling to another location to do this part. In the meantime while we're here, you will be provided a selection of tools that you will be able to use during the second part from those crates over there."
Everyone turns towards a set of crates in the back of the room.
Romulus: "I shall tell everyone which set they are in on the way to the location. One last thing to remind you of."
Romulus starts walking away.
Romulus: "Your life is not Furantur's responsibility. Do you still wish to go? If not, like Principal said earlier, you can leave right now."
The room goes silent.
Romulus: "Now go get anything you need from those crates. There should be enough for all here. There is a coach waiting at the gate so get your equipment quickly and get on it."
Everyone rushes towards the crates. People start picking weapons up in a hurried manner. Kassius stands next to a crate.
Kassius (in head): "What should I get? They're all pretty cool."
Bonnie: "Are you gonna choose?"
Kassius: "Oh... yeah I will. What are you taking?"
Bonnie: "Easy. This."
Kassius: "A wooden staff? Why not something harder like a metal pipe?"
Bonnie: "It's the first thing I chose. I can't leave it now. Anyway, I'm off to the bus. See you there."
Kassius: "Alright."
Kassius stares back at the crates.
Kassius (in head): "OK, should I take this? Nah it's too much. How about this? Ehh, I don't like it. Maybe this? ...I could look for something better. Aha! This is perfect."
Kassius pockets it and walks outside the room. As he is walking down the hall, he notices Jinsoku walking towards the stairs. Kassius catches up to him.
Kassius: "Yo!"
Jinsoku: "Kassius."
Kassius: "How did you find the first part? Bonnie said you did really good."
Jinsoku: "Yeah? Well, it was interesting."
Kassius: "Nice. Lets hope it's the same for the second part."
Jinsoku: "Yeah. Who knows, I might be generous and save you again if things go bad."
Kassius: "And if you're in my set? Who'll save you from me?"
Both of them start laughing as they continue walking towards the exit. Kassius and Jinsoku leave the building and see a large coach outside with a group of people and Romulus standing outside it. They walk towards the group and Romulus starts speaking.
Romulus: "OK, it's sixty now. Everybody should be here. Time to get on. I expect us to arrive at the location at around seven in the evening."
Everybody starts getting on.
Jinsoku: "I think I'll go ahead. I prefer to be alone before these types of things."
Kassius: "No problem. See you there, I guess."
Jinsoku walks onto the coach. Kassius looks around and sees Arnold going to the coach door. He walks up to him and enters as well.
Kassius: "Arnold. Save me a seat?"
Arnold: "Sure."
Kassius and Arnold enter the bus and sit together. Everybody gets on and Romulus enters, closing the door shut.
Romulus: "If we're all on, let's get moving."
The bus starts and drives off. Everybody starts talking. Kassius looks to Arnold.
Kassius: "So what's your plan for this?"
Arnold: "Huh?"
Kassius: "Your plan. I was thinking of working with someone. Since my objective is to get people in my own set, I don't have to worry about someone else from another set attacking me. Meaning I could work with someone. A little bit of team work couldn't hurt. Wanna team up again?"
Arnold: "It is a good plan. But what if we're in the same set?"
Kassius: "...Fair point."
They drive on for a while. As they near the location, the sun gets lower and it gets dark. Some people sleep, and others remain awake. Bonnie stares outside her window, Arnold rests and Kassius remains awake, feeling something hit his foot.
Kassius: "Hmm? Is this medicine?"
He picks it up and pockets it. As he looks out the window, he stares to the sky.
Kassius (in head): "A full moon. It's looking really nice tonight."
Romulus: "Time to wake up! Up, up, up!"
Romulus' yelling wakes people from their sleep. He grabs everyone's attention.
Romulus: "We are nearby, so I'm showing you the sets each of you belong to. Just a reminder, you can only gain points from those in your set. If you look towards the screen in front, you'll see six columns. Each one is a set. Find which one you belong to. You are listed by your labeled code that was I believe was provided at the reception earlier today."
Bonnie (in head): "Set 3."
Sarah: "I'm in set 3. Marcus, what set are you in?"
Marcus: "Set 6."
Jinsoku (in head): "I'm in Set 6."
Kassius: "I'm in Set 2. What set are you in Arnold?"
Arnold: "I'm in Set 2 as well."
Kassius: "So working together..."
Arnold: "We can't. Not this time."
Kassius: "No problem. No matter who wins this, no hard feelings?"
Arnold: "Yeah."
The coach starts slowing down as they enter a forest barricaded by fences. They head deeper and deeper until an open space. The coach comes to a stop.
Romulus: "We are here! Time to get off!"
Everybody gets off the bus and Romulus follows behind, closing the door shut.
Romulus: "Set 1 from the left to Set 6 on the right, line up with the set that you belong to."
Everybody stands in their set.
Romulus: "Get a good look at the people in your set. Those are your targets."
Everyone looks at one another. An intense aura spreads around, and the crickets chirp louder as the silence fills through the air.
Romulus: "You have about two hours. This whole location is yours to use. If you want to hide, you can. If you want to attack, your choice as well. Just do not pass the barricades. Otherwise, you will be disqualified. Other than that, do as you please because anything goes. Consider this part no holds barred. I hope everybody is ready. Prepare yourselves and spread out in a huge circle."
Everyone spreads out in a huge circle and starts stretching.
Kassius (in head): "Time for a masterclass."
Bonnie stands on her hands.
Sarah: "Careful, monkey girl. You don't wanna hurt yourself."
A group of people start laughing.
Bonnie (in head): "Don't play her games."
Marcus turns to Jinsoko, whose eyes are closed.
Marcus (in head): "Jinsoku Subayai. I wonder what kind of person you are..."
Jinsoku opens his eyes.
Jinsoku (in head): "Looks like it's time."
Arnold (in head): "It's cold tonight."
Random participant 1: "Gotta stay clear of him."
Random participant 2: "I'm not in his set, how about you?"
After a while of talking, the whole place goes so silent, you can hear the soft wind blowing and the plants rustling.
Romulus: "You will walk forward until I signal, then it begins. Is everybody ready?!"
Everybody: "Yes!"
Romulus: "Test 2, 'Pain or Gain' starts now!"