The Most Dangerous

The contestants took the stage, and among them was the girl I saw earlier with cyan hair named Neon, who secured the second-place position with 760 points. Another contestant, Don, claimed the third position with 710 points. However, the first-place winner, Henry, with an impressive lead of 800 points, was conspicuously absent.

"Apologies, folks, but it's regrettable to inform you that Henry won't be joining us on the stage today. He encountered some issues with one of the robots."

"He won't be participating in the next match due to a ban, but don't worry; he'll be back once he's completed his punishment for rule violations."

"To lighten the mood a bit, the top three contestants will enjoy special privileges, which will only be revealed to them. So, in the upcoming games, strive to do your best and accumulate points for a chance to secure those spots-

And introducing the first privilege is an opportunity to speak out loud and declare your stance," the woman announced as she handed a small microphone to Don.

Don, uncertain, took a few steps forward for better visibility. "This is all pretty new to me, but I'll say this: I will survive, no matter what. It doesn't matter if this woman seems like she's from a shelter or if Henry is being punished. None of it matters to me."

"That's enough," the woman said, gesturing for him to return the microphone.

Don complied and quickly descended from the stage.

"And what about you, Neon? You seem unusually quiet—"

"It's because I have nothing to say, you scum. I won't provide any entertainment for you or whatever runs this place," Neon retorted, cutting her off. She left the stage leaving the woman the only one standing upon it.

"Tough crowd, but I'm sure everyone is tired and hungry as of right now. So please follow the robots. It's time for lun—"

"How do we exactly earn those points?" Sarah suddenly asked as I stood beside her.

"What is it with people cutting me off today? Nonetheless, I won't answer that question. It's for you to find out," the woman said, sounding annoyed.

-The woman left the stage and entered another hall to someplace else, where robots were guarding, leaving us all alone with only the robots as comfort.

The robots escorted us to lunch, and as we made our way, I noticed that our numbers had significantly dwindled. Before, I couldn't even count the amount, but now it looks like there were only about 20 of us.

That alone already tells me how dangerous these robots can be.

As we entered the cafeteria, it was expansive, with names already assigned to each seat.

I walked around the long tables until I found my assigned seat. As I swung my feet around and sat, I noticed that the seat next to me had been assigned to "Sarah."

As my gaze fell upon the different people and seats, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around- it was her. She sat next to me; "Heya, what a coincidence we're sitting next to each other," she expressed, with a calm tone.

"Yeah. Sarah, wasn't it?" I asked, trying to recall.

"Spot on. The girl who saved your ass back then," she teased.

"It wasn't that bad. I still kept up," I retorted, trying to maintain my dignity.

"That's true, but you're still two steps behind," she said, lifting all her five fingers upwards.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I came in fifth, while you only mustered seventh," she pointed out, smirking.

"So you know you're just rubbing it in now, don't you?" I jested.

"Maybe I am."

As we chuckled and exchanged banter, the robots brought food in bowls. The dish served for each table was tomato soup, not particularly appetizing, accompanied by a glass of water.

"No bread?" a guy behind me commented. Although it was true, the lack of bread was worrying like they didn't want to feed us too much, fearing that our energy would be fully refilled. 

As everyone started eating, a question popped into my mind. "So, Sarah, do you remember who you are?"

She abruptly put the spoon down and rested her chin on her hand. "No, I don't particularly recall anything. I just know that my name is Sarah, and just found myself in this place. Hell, I don't even know if my personality now is the same as it was before."

Her input added some extra light to my theory, but something was still missing. If this was just a show or entertainment, wouldn't it be more enjoyable to see us suffer while retaining our memories?

And that still didn't answer how our memories got wiped out in the first place.

Lost in thought, I felt a slight nudge on my arm—it was Sarah.

"You better finish that food before it gets cold. We probably won't get another lunch until after the next game."

She was right. I started eating what was left of my soup. As we finished, the robots collected our bowls, and we were advised to follow them. We entered a vast hallway adorned with doors on both sides. The robots called out names assigned to these rooms.

Inside these doors were rooms for us—to sleep and perform necessary activities like exercising, sleeping, using the bathroom, and brushing our teeth.

Finally, my name was called along with another.

"Jeremy and Rowan, this is the room you both will be staying in," the robot announced.

As I went forward, I saw my supposed roommate—it was the guy from before, the one who was holding down the closet.

"It seems like we meet again, Jeremy," he said, offering a hearty handshake.

"I guess so," I accepted his handshake, feeling the strength in his grip.

Truth be told- He didn't just look bulky but had the strength to prove it. 

My hand felt a bit numb and sore after, but obviously, I didn't say it out loud.

We entered the room with not much expectation. But to our surprise- the interior was nice, neat, and surprisingly comfortable.

"Well, this was unexpected," Rowan said, scratching his head.

As we settled in, the rest of the day passed in a blur—or at least I think it did. We don't actually have any idea if it was day or night since there aren't any windows present. We can only hope that the robots were telling the time correctly.

But enough of the nonsense; it's getting late. As I hid the book under the creaky bed, and simultaneously covered myself with the blanket, a flash of all the memories of this place started coming back to me. It felt like a fever dream, and yet it was all too real. However, I still had a lot to do, such as uncovering what this messed-up place actually is and, most importantly, finding the traitor. I had the urge to tell Sarah about it, but I thought it was best to delay until later. As my eyelids got heavy and the room around me became more blurry, I embraced my first real sleep in this place.