Renas sighed softly. He really didn't want to run into that bastard again — yet here he was, facing him once more for no reason. Talk about bad luck.
"Do I know you?"
The man in the suit turned his face away, trying not to show his growing frustration and despair. Seriously? He doesn't remember the guy he fought just yesterday?!
Then he turned back toward Renas. "We fought yesterday — after that, you ended up here. I wanted to talk to you for a bit and apologize."
Renas replied in a low voice, "Alright then," and walked over to sit beside him. Unlike Charlos, Renas was still wearing a prison uniform.
"First of all, my name's Charlos. What's yours?"
"Renas."
As he said it, he pulled out a chair and sat down, about to start eating.
"Nice name. I don't know what your abilities are, but you looked pretty strong. I barely managed to win. Still, if you don't learn the rules of this place, you won't last long."
After staring at the awful soup on his plate for a few seconds, Renas turned back to Charlos. "Then explain the rules. I'm listening."
Charlos began talking, his expression sinking as he did.
"You don't know much about this world, but I do. The last mission our world received was to unite all the clans and design a giant mecha robot. After the fall of nations, clans became the massive entities that replaced them — there are about four major clans. Anyway, back to the robot.
Even from the start, we knew we couldn't possibly power something that massive. But since the Voice demanded it, we built it anyway. We were told this mission was the second-to-last before the final one. Our current mission is to find a fuel source.
The Voice must've realized how weak our world has become — that's probably why it made us build the giant robot. Nobody knows where to find the fuel, though. We only have 11 months left to complete the mission, and if we don't find the fuel by then, we'll face the final mission without the robot. Even if we stopped all fuel consumption for 11 months and saved everything, we'd only fill 0.4% of the robot's fuel reserves. That should tell you how impossible this is.
Because of that, the clans started to rot from the inside. Right now, we're in the prison owned by one of those clans — the Arena Clan.
Every prisoner here can be executed at any time by order of the clan leader. Basically, we're that bastard's dogs now. And that bastard wants his dogs to find more dogs and fix the problems in the city. Those who fail or are too stupid get thrown into the clan's namesake — the arena — for his entertainment. That's why I fought you. It's normal for newcomers who arrive through portals to be aggressive, but in a corrupt world like this, even the tiniest offense can be blown out of proportion. That's why you're here now."
While Charlos was explaining, Renas just kept staring at his meal.
Eventually, Charlos asked, "You were listening, right?"
Renas calmly replied, "Of course I was... but, uh... how are you eating this?"
Charlos took a deep breath and passed him the salt.
Renas sprinkled a bit onto the strange green soup filled with octopus tentacles. The moment the salt hit, the soup changed color and turned into something that at least looked like a decent meal — at least to Renas' eyes.
As Renas finally began eating, Charlos continued, realizing he'd skipped a few details.
"Anyway... moving on.
This prison might seem cozy to you, but even the smallest rule violation, or angering the leader, can get you sent to the arena — or just killed outright because he feels like it. So follow the rules. They're actually really simple: Obey every order given by the enforcers. That's it. That's the whole rulebook."
He paused, then continued.
"As for how I caught you outside the prison... Like I said, our lives depend on the leader's whims. When prisoners are allowed outside, even though they can use their abilities, they don't use them to escape. Instead, they roam the city to recruit more dogs for the clan and take on missions assigned by higher-ranking Arena officers. These missions aren't from the Voice — they're local assignments.
I haven't been here long myself, so... how about we stick together?"
Renas lifted his head slightly, thinking he didn't really have any other choice.
Then he said quietly, "Alright," and stood up. He took his tray to the counter, where the muscular kitchen worker took it with a cheerful smile and even waved as Renas walked away.
How could people like that be working for someone evil? Renas wondered. Maybe Charlos is just crazy.
He noticed that the other inmates who finished their meals weren't returning to their cells — they were heading somewhere else. Curious, he followed them.
Even though he hadn't finished eating, Charlos jogged after him, not wanting to leave him alone. As they walked down the same corridor as the others, he began explaining.
"We're going to the exit — the prison exit. If you don't return by 10 p.m., you'll be marked as an escapee. Stay gone for three days, and they'll kill you instantly. They assume there's always a reason for escaping. You can pick up your belongings from the room next to the exit. And if you think I haven't told you everything, there's a rulebook there too. Most inmates learn from that."
After a long walk, they reached the gate. Charlos waited while Renas stepped into the side room, changed back into his old clothes, and retrieved his rifle.
When the two of them stepped outside, Renas turned back — and froze. A massive arena towered behind them. The prison had been built beneath it.
Charlos spoke with pride, "That's probably your first time seeing it, huh? I agree, it's magnificent. It's called Glass. Not sure why."
Renas found it absurd that such a grand, colossal coliseum had such a simple name. What was the clan leader thinking? He didn't dwell on it too long, though.
"So... what's our mission?"
Charlos turned his head from the arena to Renas. "You're a prisoner now, so you should have access to the J400 ability. Just think of that code, and it'll activate. The ability summons a phone — you'll get your missions through it."
Renas thought the word J400, and a cloud of mist appeared before him. He reached into it and pulled out a phone.
It turned on immediately. It wasn't like the ones from his own world — no touch controls, no advanced features, just a simple display showing his assignments. How boring, he thought, and checked the mission.
"Check the factory.– Factory Code: 208R"
Charlos leaned over to look, then burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! I can't believe they're still doing this. They've been giving that same mission to every newcomer for months, and nothing's ever changed. The higher-ups really need to stop dumping this on newbies and handle it themselves. Anyway, let's just go there. Hundreds of people have already checked it — all we have to do is sit around inside for a while. If we come back too quickly, they'll get suspicious, so it's better to kill a few hours. Sucks that your first mission's this dull, but that's life."
Renas gave him a puzzled look. "You don't have your own mission?"
Charlos explained that he had already completed his assignment for the week — missions were issued weekly, so he was free until the next cycle.
With his last question answered, Renas cleared his mind. The two of them set off toward Factory 208R.