"What team would last and endure the agony of this amicable match?"
*bell rings*
We were all surprised by the sudden interruption. We glanced at the middle of the living area, exactly where we formed a circle to play truth or dare. A hologram appeared. It must be Author. The girls stood on their feet while the boys stopped playing board games and gathered with us.
"Seems like you are enjoying your games. Pardon me for barging in." We all hear that enigmatic voice of Author again. Its gender, age, ethnicity, and identity are all unknown. We're not even sure whether we're talking to a living thing, such as a person, or an object like a robot.
"If you are playing games, then you should take it to another step and play a real game!"
Just as I thought. We will play again.
"Welcome to Wealth Level Stage 2!"
It took me a while to absorb and identify that there's something wrong with Author's declaration.
"Wait, isn't it stage 3? " Seventh asked the question that formed in my mind. "We're done with stage 2." He's sharp this time.
Thirtwen stooped in. "Yeah, he's right. It was the clone of yours that killed Fortwen!" I can feel his anger from the words that he said to Author. We play truth or dare and board games for fun, but this fun is temporary because the guilt and grief are within us.
"Wealth Level Stage 2 has been carried out but not yet cleared." Everyone's faces became serious because, apart from the fact that we will play again, we all expect it to be more difficult.
"None of you was able to take the necklace from Forwen's neck, which is the goal to clear the stage."
I recollect the events from that game. Author is correct. Fifth was about to grab the necklace from Fortwen when she grasped it and stabbed her neck repeatedly, resulting in her death. It was a gruesome memory I wish to forget because it's too disturbing, but my mind cannot easily erase it.
"To finally clear this stage, another chance is given to you." Author stated with a tone that we must be thankful for giving us a second chance to redo or complete stage 2 rather than giving up our lives.
Third asked Author. "What is it this time?"
"Proceed to the 5th floor," Author ordered us, and the hologram went off.
We hurriedly ran and went up to the 5th floor. This is also the same place where we had our last game, which is the fight against the clones of Fortwen—the scene from which she and Twelf died. We were still gasping for breath when we reached the destination of the next game.
After a few seconds, it was like magic. I was amazed by what happened next. The relatively dark and empty space that looked like a closed parking area has transformed into something else. The ceiling and roof moved upwards, increasing the ceiling's height of this floor. The whole area is well lit, and the floor is shiny. There are benches on both sides, 2 basketball rings, and balls on either side. It became clear that the surroundings became an indoor covered court.
To an unknown method, the boys who had previously been in their school uniforms were altered into wearing jerseys and uniformly white-colored rubber shoes. Five boys wore silver jerseys, and the other five boys wore gold jerseys. The number on the back of the jersey is their name, or should I say their number names. I checked myself and I'm still wearing the same uniform, as well as the other girls.
Author suddenly appeared in the middle of the court, so our attention shifted from being astounded by our new setting to curiosity about what the game would be.
"First, the boys will play Ball of Rings. 10 boys, divided into two groups. The silver team and gold team. 5 players for each team."
Ball of Rings? As to what I can see right now, they seem to be playing basketball.
"Yes! Time to show off my skills!" Fifzen declared happily. I can see that he is in high spirits.
As the boys wore their sleeveless basketball jerseys and knee-high shorts with bulky white rubber shoes, Fifzen's biceps became more evident. It's not that visible when he's wearing his regular student uniform. He must've been a sporty guy on Earth. And yeah, he regularly uses the gym here too.
"This is not your typical basketball game." Author added.
How can this not be an ordinary basketball game that we do on Earth when the place exactly looks the same as what we're used to?
"Indeed, it is 5 versus 5. The goal is to shoot and score as many balls as possible into your opponent's ring before the time runs out. There are penalties given, but no need to elaborate on those because this game is lenient compared to your world's version of basketball."
How are they going to play orderly if Author won't explain all the details?
"15 minutes will be given before starting." After telling the simple mechanics, Author disappeared.
"Let's go!" Seventh exclaimed while holding his jersey.
I can see the boys' ordinal number names tattooed on the upper part of their arms. Others have faded black on the side and turned gold like mine. Author said that when you resist, the color of the tattoo changes, a hint that your life span is lengthening. Ninezen is almost half in gold. As for First, his left arm is almost 3/4 gold. Since the boys would play first, the girls in school uniforms stood aside and sat on the bleachers. There are pompoms and bottled water.
"What are we going to do here?" Sectwen asked irritably, pointing at the bleacher and pompoms.
"What else but to cheer them on. Whooo!" Aeith's cheerful reply. She grabbed a pair of pompoms and shouted more. "Go, boys!"
I sat on the bleacher, so did the other girls.
"My, my. I miss watching live games like this!" Sixth giggled.
Gold versus Silver is the battle because that's the color of their jerseys.
I then realized that:
Gold team- Fifzen (15th), Sevenzen (17th), Ninezen (19th), Firstwen (21st), Thirtwen (23rd) came from private high schools
Silver team- First (1st), Third (3rd), Fifth (5th), Seventh (7th), Ninth (9th) came from public high schools
This game is not just boys versus boys, but also private schools vs. public schools. From the several days that we stayed here, I managed to identify their identities even with just basic information because we still do not hold our full memories.
Is this what the Author claims to be? That this is a different kind of game. I still can't get through Author's thoughts. This literally seems to be a simple basketball game often played by boys. The game hasn't started yet so some of the boys sit on the bleachers while others are warming their bodies up.
"Hey," Seventh and Ninezen approached us.
"No enemies here. Go away, go away!" Aeith's dismissal of Ninezen because he's from a gold team. Should we be cheering on the silver team since Aeith, Fourth, and I came from the public schools?
"You sure of this, Ninezen?" Seventh asked his friend while stretching his arms for a warm-up.
"Don't you underestimate me, small fry," Ninezen scoffed. "Hmp, you are now facing a giant, kiddo." And they looked at each other. Thinking of themselves as enemies for now.
If Ninezen said that, it means he's good at basketball or at least has experience with sports.