Rusting Chains

Chapter 4

The air in Tree City is thinner, but that's nothing I haven't prepared for. I thought this mission would be difficult and unexpected; maybe I was wrong. When I arrived at Tree City, I was greeted by a small robot half my height. He took my bags and announced that the first game would start soon. I'm glad I arrived on time.

I stepped onto the platform that started to ascend to a starting point where my opponents would be.

From afar, I could see the backs of my future opponents; some were wide, thin, and short. Each tribe sends out a representative to compete in the Running Man competition to win the meterion. The materion is a powerful energy source that can heal dead lands, power cities, and even stop wars, or so I heard. My only goal is to win the competition and live a free life, maybe in the countryside, by a lake or a waterfall. Perhaps I could even set up a farm and live off of fresh herbs and spring water.

Some time passes, the last representative enters, and the games begin. In my pocket, where the Man X badge was, it started to glow red. I turned it off, 'I don't think I would need this for the opening game, this would be too easy,' I thought to myself. I run and leap over obstacles and smile. Before the game started, we were given a mystery item, while I saw some were running, some were walking, and even had difficulty getting up. "Huh, what the?"

I saw one of my competitors on the ground, but I kept running past him regardless. "I heard this competition was really hard, but so far it's a piece of cake," I say, chuckling to myself.

I can't believe I got a gold coin on my first try, I must be one lucky guy! I kept running and leaped just in time before I ran into an obstacle. But it turns out, it was a post, a pot for a bus stop, the driver of the bus was a robot, and he demanded that I give him my coin.

I can't just give away my coin, not when I could save it and use it for something else, like maybe for my dojo in the countryside! I sigh as I keep running until I can reach the door to the path. I tapped a small pedestal, and it led me to the path of the magnet. When the doors opened, I instantly felt the electromagnetic field around me. I even felt the pull of the metal coin in my pocket.

From afar, I could hear a voice, someone shouting.

I was about to look behind me when I felt a painful punch on the side of my face, which sent me flying to the ground. I was upset and caught off guard. "Hey!" I said, grabbing the guy who just kicked me, "You are so dead meat! You just came out of nowhere and-" As I pulled him towards me, I noticed his metal boots stuck to the ground.

"You're stuck, aren't you? Well then, take care, kid." As I was about to leave when his hands wrapped around my waist he held on tight, so my resistance was futile. "Wait a second, help me before you go," he said, gripping me tighter. Wait, why am I struggling like this? I put my hands together and teleported out of his clutches. Once I was free, I started to make my way through the path of the magnet. It sure looks pretty long, but I know I can reach the end of it if I keep going.

"Why hello!" the green kid who was stuck earlier just passed me. I teleported and stood on the metal contraption behind me. Maybe this kid's brain can get me through the first half of the competition.

Then another competitor passed us, only to start slowing down to our speed. He tried to use his stick to go faster, but somehow he slipped and fell in front of us. "What are you doing?" the kid asks, grunting. "That hurt!"

"Yeah, who the heck are you?"

"What are you doing here?" the kid asks, baffled as he glances up at me. I chuckle nervously as we make our way to the end of the path of the magnet. We felt being launched into the air, and the ground being pulled from under us. The kid and the guy with glasses fell face first, while I stuck a pretty good landing.