[Viewer Qorveth-9 of the Glass Orbit: Kill one early and send him a knife]
--
Blake felt his back go cold.
Michael had seen them too judging by the way his mouth opened with pure disbelief.
"They can comment on us?" he said.
"Looks like it" Blake replied while breathing harder.
Soon one of the comments grew bigger than the rest.
[Viewer Lord Kharuul of Nine Maws has sent 1 Minor Hydration Capsule to contestant: Alena Ward]
A small tube wrapped in blue light appeared in the air and dropped in front of the same woman who had been doing squats.
Everyone around her looked at it like beasts.
The woman herself froze before scrambling forward and grabbing it with both hands.
A man lunged at her from the side.
The moment his fingers touched the capsule, a crack of light blasted him back and he rolled on the ground screaming.
The woman ripped the cap off and drank it in one go like her life depended on it, and maybe it did. Her eyes became clearer and her shaking lessened almost instantly.
"They can really help..." Blake muttered.
"Or make us kill each other for scraps" Michael said with a savage expression.
Blake didn't answer because Michael was right.
He looked up and saw more and more comments flooding in.
--
[Viewer Yssera-of-the-Third Brood: Orange suit 119203 is handsome when scared]
[Viewer Veyr-Kal of Dust Lantern Court: Sponsor the loud one]
[Viewer Priest-Observer Thaariq: No, sponsor the quiet one. He is learning.]
[Viewer House Uul'meret: Which one survives longer?]
--
The comments made Blake feel naked.
He had never thought that one day all of his fear would become some show for creatures he could not even imagine.
But his points were climbing.
Then the ranking screen flashed near his face.
--
Current Rank: 682,441,902
Safe Rank Cutoff: 100,000,000
Time Left: 29:12
--
Blake's pupils shrank.
He was nowhere near safe.
Michael suddenly pushed himself off the ground and stood up, breathing hard.
"I'm switching." He muttered and instantly started burpees.
His score jumped far faster this time.
Blake almost cursed out loud.
So even Michael had been wasting time.
"Don't get stuck on one!" Blake shouted without thinking.
A few people around him heard and their expressions changed. Some instantly changed exercise while some glared at him like he had just revealed treasure.
One skinny boy dropped from pushups to a plank and started sobbing when his score shot up.
"Thank you! Thank you!" the boy cried to nobody.
Then his eyes moved to the comments and his face went white all over again.
--
[Viewer Ool-Mahri the Feast Curator: This one cries too much]
[Viewer Ool-Mahri the Feast Curator has voted for punishment event if contestant remains dull]
--
Blake stared at that line and his throat turned dry.
There were punishments too?
As if to answer him, the cheerful voice returned again.
[The viewers seem to be settling in nicely! Since this sector is showing such passion, a tiny bonus shall be granted!]
People all around slowed down in fear and looked at the sky.
Blake kept sprinting.
He had already understood one thing.
Whenever that thing in the sky sounded excited, nobody should feel relieved.
The next notification came down in a cascade of blue.
--
[Bonus Event:
For the next 10 minutes, all score gain will be visible to nearby contestants.
Try not to get jealous!]
--
"What the fuck kind of bonus is that?!" Michael roared.
The answer came instantly in the form of chaos.
Numbers started becoming visible above heads.
Blake saw a broad shouldered man not far away already above two hundred while doing burpees like a machine. The moment the others saw it too, space started opening around him. Not because they were scared of him.
Because they were measuring him.
Because now everyone knew who was ahead.
Blake also saw the woman named Alena rise past one hundred after the hydration capsule and the way some men looked at her made his skin crawl. This bonus was not a bonus at all. It was a way to turn all of them against each other before even giving them weapons. His own score became visible too.
And right above it, another small line.
--
Rank: 511,203,221
--
It was still too low and not enough.
Blake pushed his legs harder until his lungs felt hot. Then another new thing appeared in front of him alone.
[Viewer Thaariq has sent you a Minor Form Hint]
[Lift your knees higher, Victor Blake. Your body score is being wasted.]
Blake almost tripped. The comment used his full name and worse, it was right.
He forced his knees higher, pumped his arms tighter and changed the rhythm of his breathing.
The score jumped.
Michael saw the spike and looked at Blake like he had just been slapped.
"What did you do?" he snapped.
Blake looked at the message again, then at the sky full of blue, then at the comments that kept pouring like poison. There were monsters watching and one of them had just decided to help him.
"I think..." Blake said while trying to keep his breath steady, "I think one of them likes me."
Michael stared at Blake for a moment as if he had not heard him properly, then he barked out a laugh that had no humor in it.
"Then make the bastard useful!" He shouted and dropped lower into his burpees with a face that looked close to savage.
Blake did not answer because he was too busy trying to breathe right.
His legs were already burning and the muscles near his ribs felt like they were getting tighter with every second, but the small hint had changed everything.
He lifted his knees higher, kept his back straighter and forced his arms to swing with the rhythm that felt most natural to his body.
The game was changing.