"Where am I?"

  Eli heard laughter and chatter in the distance, angelic voices of kids playing around.

  "Ah, it must be Madoka playing with the kids."

  He was in a white cerulean alleyway, walking towards a door that illuminated a warm orange like the sun. The joyous laughter was protruding out of that room.

  Have the kids eaten yet? I did manage to ransack enough skals to last us for two days. Let me go check on them. I'm sure they are fine."

  He walked closer and closer, but with each step, the colours shook like electric impulses. They flashed on and off, and the bright, luminous orange started to fade. A sense of panic grew and took root in Eli's heart; he became frantic, worried, scared and out of breath.

  "Haaah.Haaah." he took deep breaths like he had been frantically chased or came close to experiencing a panic attack.

  "Kyaaaa." The Joyous laughter had turned into screams.

  "No! That was Madoka's voice."

  He frantically ran, but the distance to the door at the end of the alleyway didn't change.

  "HELP US ELI! WE DON'T WANT TO DIE! PEASE!"

  "No! Don't hurt them," Eli cried out in agony.

  His legs didn't move, he was stuck in constant motion.

  "MOVE DAMN IT! MOVE!" he screamed at his legs.

  The ambience was dark; the entire alleyway became black as night, and the noises disappeared into a void. It was silent. Completely silent.

  Eli managed to move; his legs worked, and he ran towards the door.

  Creak!

  Eli slowly pushed open the door with his trembling hands. Everything was black inside that room; no light could enter or exit. He blinked. The room changed. Red blood splattered around the walls, crimson evaded the floors, and a puddle of melancholy. The black room was stained in blood; Eli gasped for air, unable to breathe. He felt suffocated. Trapped. Strangled. He blinked.

  "why didn't you help us, brother Eli…"

  "NOOOOO!"

  Eli opened his eyes, but all he saw was an ivory ceiling and his hand that reached out. He was lying in a bed.

  Beep. Beep. Beep

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "what's that annoying sound? Where am I?"

  He looked to the left and found a strange machine with a tube that protruded out and was injected into his arm.

  "Looks like you've had a nightmare." An old, raspy voice permeated from the distance.

  "Who are you" Eli responds with a puzzled but wary gaze.

  "Just an old man who found a gem that requires polishing"

  "A gem? There's no such thing here."

  "Hm, that might be true for now, but just like your good eyes, I have eyes to see potential where people see garbage."

  Eli was surprised; he knew he had good eyesight but had never met anyone who had noticed it. He became wary and serious.

  "What do you want?" Eli asked.

  "I don't know, what can you offer?" the elderly man retorted.

  "Why would I need to offer you anything?"

  "Because I can offer you what you truly want."

  "How would you know what I want?"

  The eccentric elderly man in the blue suit and fancy hat laughed.

  "It's simple, a boy abandoned by the world, treated like garbage, forced to swallow the footprints of greedy adults. You want… no, you need power, the power that no one can deny, the power that sweeps and engulfs the foolish that stands in your way, the power that suffocates the world with your presence, that's what you want."

  Eli is amazed by the words but scoffs at the ideals the man spouts.

  "No thanks, I don't want to be the pet of a rich old man who shouts nothing but ideals. Find someone else to do your bidding."

  The elderly man responds cunningly, "Did I forget to mention the power to stop your little brothers and sisters from being sold to horrific scum."

  Eli's eyes became vicious. He was furious. He readied himself to lunge at the old man, tensing his arms.

  "Hold on. Hold on. I have no intention of harming children, especially beggars, for that matter. Genuinely, I could give a rat's ass as to what happens to them."

  "Then why did you run a background check on me if you couldn't care about the poor."

  "Listen, boy, you have something I want."

  "What could that be?"

  "Potential"

  "You see, just as you have your good 'eyes', I also have good intuition, and I see in you a strong desire to get what you want."

  "There are plenty of rich kids you could get as your experimental toy, but why me?"

  "Oh, but they all fundamentally lack the qualities that you possess."

  Eli looked confused. He pondered what this old man was blabbering and rambling on about.

  "They don't know how it feels to survive. They stuff their faces, whilst the one I'm looking for fights for the roadside scraps. Yes. The one who circles around like a vulture. Seeks advantage like a crow and lives like a wolf hiding in a herd of sheep. Yes, 'Eli of the slums, ' what I want is someone of your calibre. No, I want you. It has to be you."

  "Let's say I become your subordinate. What's in it for me?."

  "Tch.Tch.Tch," the old man clicked his tongue. "Boy, you are getting this wrong; it is you who needs to prove yourself to me. Prove yourself to me, and I'll give you everything as your sponsor," he said with a sinister snicker.

  "Everything?"

  "Yes, everything"

  This might be the opportunity Eli had been searching for. He initially wanted to make his way up the ranks without any backer. Still, the more Eli climbed up, the harder it would be for him to adjust to the demands of equipment and taking care of his family. In the end, he wanted to move his family and give them a life as soon as possible; the quicker he saved them from the slums and the thugs, the faster he would feel relieved.

  "What do I have to do to prove myself?"

  "Get out of the Imp league within a week."

  This task was a heavy one, a place consisting of over 100,000 players; it would take months to rank up, let alone a week.

  "You must be thinking that it's impossible, but that's only if you lose. If you sign the 'dead man 'contract and win 5 matches in a row, you'll be ranked up without a worry."

  "Deadman's contract?" Eli curiously questioned.

  "They should have explained it to you already, but fine, I'll tell you again, the 'Deadman's contract' means a player must put their life up as collateral; in return, if they win the match, they take all the skills of their opponents, but if they lose the match, they die in real life, and their body is taken by the Battle Emporium to do whatever they want with it. Truly, it's the definition of 'Dead men tell the best tales', a high risk, high reward choice, befitting of someone looking for my sponsorship."

  "Well, you should be recovered completely now; best make a move as soon as possible, or else you'll lose my support and also lose your supposed family to the third-rate thugs playing house in the slums."

  "Thomas, escort Eli out when he's done."

  "As you command, sir Gremory."

  Before the man exited the room, he stopped for a brief moment and spoke out: "Oh, and Eli, don't disappoint me. What I hate more than someone who's worthless is someone who's a disappointment."