"Lastly, check out your arm, your dominant arm's shoulder."
She examined her right arm because of what Author mentioned. She was wearing her short-sleeved blouse, so her shoulders weren't fully visible.
"Behind your sleeves is your ordinal number name."
She unbuttoned the first three buttons of her blouse and slipped the collar down to her right shoulder. She was puzzled to see that there was a tattoo on it.
Zero and two, 02. These were the numbers tattooed on it. She doesn't know when she got a tattoo when she was still on Earth, but did she really get a tattoo?
Author disrupted them. "That will be your temporary name. And it follows." The big letter capital A hologram changed into numbers and ordinal numbers.
Author continued.
"1st as First
2nd as Second
3rd as Third
4th as Fourth
5th as Fifth
6th as Sixth
7th as Seventh
8th as Aeith
9th as Ninth
10th as Tenth
11th as Eleventh
12th as Twelf
13th as Thirzen
14th as Forzen
15th as Fifzen
16th as Sixzen
17th as Sevenzen
18th as Aeizen
19th as Ninezen
20th as Twentieth
21st as Firstwen
22nd as Sectwen
23rd as Thirtwen
24th as Fortwen."
She noticed that their number names were strange, as if they were mixed with other spellings or languages. It's a bit unusual, but it also seems to be derived from the English ordinal number. The boys were classified in odd numbers, while the girls were even numbers. She remembered it one by one, then took note of it carefully.
The hologram went back to being letter A.
Author resumed after they read the temporary names it was referring to. "You will also notice that from black, the color of the number changes on your skin. From black to gold means your life span increases. The more effort you put in, the longer the life span you will have. Make it one of your goals to change its color fully into gold."
She looked at her shoulder again. The black edge was fading with a slight hint of gold, which means her life span was increasing!
The hologram screen changed from an old font of letter A to their profile. There were 24 pictures of them, like a 1-inch by 1 inch picture wearing their school uniforms. Below their picture were the numbers 01-24 same thing that's currently tattooed on them, and the corresponding ordinal number names.
According to their number names, the arrangement of their profile places her in the first row, second column. She noticed something strange. She saw two of their members who have passed away. By looking into their pictures on the hologram screen, they were named in ordinal numbers, Eleventh (11th) and Thirzen (13th). The words 'game over' were tagged below their pictures with a big red X watermark.
"Two of your comrades died at level 1, stage 1. They died because they are weak, and nothing can be done about it, that's why it's already a game over for them." Someone's fist clenched from what they all heard what Author just said.
"Hey! You don't know their sacrifices!" shouted a boy with long, dark blue hair.
She can understand his anger. She recognized that the three of them were together when Eleventh and Thirzen were still alive.
"I know, I know. That's why nothing can be done about it. If you don't want to die, then live. But in order to live, you must fight."
Her hand just went numb from the pent-up anger. Author was aware that human life depends on this game, yet it calmly speaks as if they're nothing but prey. They might not know each other well, but you can't just trample other people's lives, even if they receive a prize.
Their pictures disappeared, and the hologram returned with the big letter A on it.
"Those number names of yours were already embedded right after you entered the castle. This is a closed area. Therefore, you will live here while waiting for new challenges and the next stages. I assure you that you'll enjoy this cozy place. But more importantly, enjoy the game!" Author announced with a mocking tone.
Many questions still formed in her mind. She was not satisfied with the answers she got.
"Go and find the answers that you seek... Good luck," then the hologram disappeared like a bubble before their eyes.
"I have more questions!" She yelled, but no one could answer her now. They had a lot of questions, but they only got a few answers.
She held the tattoo on her arm. It looks like a simple tattoo, but it's embossed on the skin.
Author mentioned that at any time, something could attack them. It did not mention what kind of game it was for stage 2. They should not be complacent just because they were in a nice and lavish place. This castle was too fancy for her liking and might tempt them to let their guard down. They're supposed to be always alert and ready.
The last thing Author said was stuck in her head. "Go and find the answers that you seek..."
If there are up to three levels and many more stages, they will have a hard time. Just last night, the one with the monster had their two friends. How about in the next levels and stages to come? They're not even halfway there. This was all just the beginning, and thinking about it makes her nervous.
"Let's do this! Don't let what that hologram said bring us fear. It will be better to search this castle and check if we can find anything," an encouraging word from their chubby leader—no, he's Firstwen (21st).
She saw it there in the hologram screen profile earlier. And their other leader, who wears eyeglasses, was Third (3rd).
Before carrying out the plan, others couldn't move right away but were disturbed by what Author revealed to them. But there were still those who smiled and laughed the topic off to lighten the mood. As for her, she was left standing in the middle of the living area and stared at the alluring chandelier above her.
Gradually, the castle was filled with noise when they were now introducing each other with the names Author temporarily gave them. She has no idea how long they are going to use these names, but this was better than nothing. This was probably the first time that something good had happened here. Author gave them names that it also stole their real names from them. Quite ironic, isn't it? Others took action and then went up to the second floor to search the entire castle at the command of the two leaders. She was still left standing awhile and was deeply thinking about the events.
"Oy!" the talkative—she means, wait, she forgot her number name. She ran to her while having the biggest smile she had seen from her so far. She put her arm around her shoulder. "What's your name, huh?" she giggled.
She slipped down her sleeves to show her tattooed number.
"You, that's you! Your name suits you!" She didn't know how that ordinal number suited her, but she's glad to hear that compliment.
She lifted her short sleeves on her right arm. "And I'm Aeith!" Aeith because she got 08 numbers tattooed on her right arm. She was so eager to approach everyone to tell them her name. She gave her a big hug.
"Guys!" She heard a cute, calming voice approaching them. She was modest in act and speech, as well as her voice, which went well with her petite figure.
She smiled at them. "Finally, we have names!" She held out her right hand as if to shake hands. "My name is Fourth!" Her number was 04. She grabbed her right hand for a warm handshake as if this were their first meeting.
She sees in them the fun behind the bitter and confusing things that were happening to them and will happen next. Somehow, her problems disappeared for a moment when she saw them smiling because of a small thing. Even for this short period, she wants these smiles to last.
She smiled at them and introduced herself, "I'm Second. Glad to meet you, too."