If Life Were A Game

Chapter 3: Comfort Zone

        "Hey! Wake up now!"

        As I got up from my bunk I saw a familiar face staring at me. It was the tall indian kid from earlier...so he was my roommate. Quickly getting out of bed, I noticed that he had already put on the coat, training armor, gloves and boots, so I quickly did the same.

        As we emerged from our rooms, we were met with Tam. He looked unexpectedly happy today.

        "ALRIGHT GROUP!! WE HAVE 25 MINUTES TO GET TO THE LUNCHROOM AND FINISH BREAKFAST!! CONSIDER THIS TRAINING AND RUN!!"

        Falling into line with my new roommate, I asked,

        "So what do you think about all this?"

        He looked around anxiously as if the beaming Tam in the front could hear us .as we ran toward the lunchroom, he whispered,

        "I think it's a trap. Like doesn't it seem strange? I walked around this place yesterday and looked through most of the doors. There's no one here...but us. You?"

        "I agree, it look suspicious. But Tam doesn't seem like a killer, just an enforcer or something. I'm Ryumei by the way"

        "Nice name. I'm Agni. Agni Joshi. I hope we get along, Lightning boy."

            I suddenly realized he'd been speaking japanese.

"Surprised? I actually lived in the Japanese block for a few years in our VR trance as a exchange student. It was then that I met James. He helped me start the ITO game and let me join his team. He was just so confident...I was stunned he got shot down so quickly...by your group.."

I decided it wasn't the time to tell him that my team used to be in the top five teams in the world.

 In the lunchroom, it was a buffet style breakfast. I took some scrambled eggs and some toast and found a table. As Agni sat down next to me, I couldn't help but notice the wary expressions on my fellow trainees. And there was Tam, stuffing his face with food washed down with orange juice without a care in the world....

Suddenly Tam stood up and bellowed, "AND BREAKFAST HAS FINISHED!! FOLLOW ME AND WE'LL PROCEED TO YOUR FIRST LESSON!"

Sprinting once more, I felt more fatigued than the long hikes back in ITO, no, the VR world...It was just so hard thinking that Evan was still hooked up to one of those machines attending Seishin as usual.

"Because I have a meeting later today, we'll do two hours of basic combat training, and then move on to element control before calling it a day. Any questions?"

A young girl from the back of our group raised her hand and asked,

"Instructor Tam sir, I know that you said all of the things about this world being dangerous, but why do we have to fight and train? And where are we even going after this week is over?"

Tam paused in mid-step. Then, raising his megaphone again, he explained,

"THE QUESTION ASKED WAS WHAT ARE WE TRAINING FOR AND WHERE ARE WE GOING AFTER THIS WEEK. TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, FIRST FOLLOW ME TO OUR CLASSROOM. THERE I WILL EXPLAIN."

In the classroom, Tam pulled out a stack of papers and appointed another kid to pass them out to each of us. It was...a map?

"Now that all of you have a map in front of you, let's begin this lesson. I was going to save this one for later but I knew the question would pop up sooner than later. We are currently in the Steel City, Provectum. This city is not in a permanent position, but instead floats the skies above the seven main cities. The leftmost city is Azar, the City of flames. It's a savage City where only the strongest survive. The next city is the City of Lightning, Keravnos. Keravnos is run by one elected leader, determined through a general election. Many of their members serve as peace keepers between cities. The next city is the city of the wind, Araceli. It's a mysterious and isolated place so not much is known about it. The largest City is the Frozen land, Gwyneira. Their people are governed by a triumvirate council. The rivers in which the City of water lies, is Aedre. Aedre has a democratic council in place. Aedre controls the waters in this world with its many famed privateers and pirates. The next city would be the industrial city, home to the best craftsmen in the country, Fyto. The Plant city is one with a unique type of government, since it's split into two factions. One is the gathering section, with most of its residents peaceful mages who wish to cultivate their powers to grow food and discover new things. The other faction is the war section, in which their members are dedicated to fighting instead of engineering the plants for science. The Stone City of Hajar, located in the great mountain of Har Hellinum, is a republic ruled by a council which switches every few years. All of these cities have alliances among different cities, which provides a steady stream of income to these cities due to the trade routes. Any questions?"