They had two days to fully rest. The first day neither of them left their warm and comfortable beds except for the bathroom. The second phase expended them to the maximum, both mentally and physically. Seeing so many people die, Zane and Malik also reflected on their own goals and if they were really worth all this sacrifice but ultimately that did not deter them. Their goals must be achieved, for their families.

The other day went by better. They felt more refreshed and took a walk through the city. Spending some time in a bar, they even tried non-alcoholic beer for the first time in their lives and both got a minor nosebleed after. Their feelings were mutual, both disliked the taste and smell of it.

After returning to their motel, the duo also spent some time talking with the elderly lady who was both the receptionist and the owner. She explained how this was a family business passed down from parent to child since countless decades ago. Zane and Malik enjoyed the talk and learned some valuable lessons afterwards.

During their time when they were strolling through and exploring the city of Treaburn, Zane and Malik stumbled upon some of the remaining competitors but they were mostly ignored. Everyone looked like they were on edge and had a hostile approach. Not surprising considering all they had been through so far, seeing so much carnage and violence. Zane also saw those weird triangle symbols he saw at the train station in his hometown. He asked Malik if he knew anything about it but the answer was negative. Malik did see something similar but didn’t know what the meaning of it was. Whenever Zane tried to bury it in the back of his head as something trivial, it would always pop out and gave him some sort of notification in his brain that it mattered. The young man didn’t know what to think of this.

* * *

It arrived. The day of the third and final phase of the Competition. While there was nervousness in the air, the feeling of excitement and adventure eclipsed any negative concoctions. Since they woke up early, Zane had enough time to call his mother and bring her up to date on everything that had happened so far. He again omitted any details of deaths that transpired during the second phase but didn’t shy away from it entirely; he did mention that some competitors got hurt while he and Malik were alive and well but even that seemed like an understatement, which it was. When he passes it all and becomes a Ranger, then he’ll tell her what exactly happened but for now this was enough.

Dressed up and ready, the weather was cloudy but it was a little warmer then yesterday or the day before. Zane and Malik arrived at the Stadium where the majority had already gathered and not too long after, the remaining Competitors arrived.

Yataro was standing with Ling and some other people but Zane and Malik didn’t approach them, mainly owing to the the minor incident that occured when the second phase was at its end and Malik approached Ling and asked how she felt and she replied in a rude manner. She probably had some issues or lingering private problems so neither of them wanted to escalate it any further. At least they knew her name when Yataro told them and that was enough for now at least.

At 09:00, the doors opened and the standard formation marched out. The security guards, the megaphone guy and this phase’s instructor. An elderly lady, wearing a Victorian-era dark-blue polka dot dress with a pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a golden wrist watch. Her graying hair was tied in a bun and her face looked surprisingly good for her age, which was 63.

“Thank you all for arriving on time. My name is Minerva Caulfield, I’m a 2nd-Class Ranger and the instructor for this phase of the Competition. Today we shall undergo the third and final phase of this year’s Competition so everyone who has made it this far, congratulations and good luck from now on.”

Her voice is marred with elegance and eloquity but the competitors didn’t really care that much. They are much more concerned with what gruesome task they’ll burden them now. The jump in difficulty from the first to second phase was astronomical and they can only dread how much that’ll resonate in this phase now.

This time there are only two buses parked at the stadium parking lot. Understandable, as there are only 50 competitors left along with the P.S.A. staff. This also implies that the third phase will also take place somewhere else than the Stadium.

“Now, just like two days ago, when that ra-, I mean, when Instructor Roman was here in my place, go take a seat in the buses and they will drive us to the location of the third phase.”

There was some gossip and chatter among the remaining competitors as they boarded the buses. Zane and Malik concluded that the Instructors or maybe even the other Rangers didn’t think highly of their fellow comrades in the end.

In contrast to the second phase, this time the buses went to the left, around twenty kilometers away from the city. Another forest but this one was far more eerie looking and had an uncanny feeling to it. Barely any animal could be seen or heard, the trees looked cut or rotten, the smell was also foul and worst of all, the GPS signals broke the further they went in and mobile phones also lost any signal, even the emergency ones.

Arriving at their destination, the passengers unboarded the buses but very reluctantly so. When looking at what was in front of them, it shouldn’t be a surprise to any normal individual.

A clearing in the forest where the buses are parked and the competitors along with the P.S.A. staff unloaded but this is not the reason. It’s what’s in the clearing.

A massive building, reeking of decadence and rot, takes the central spot here. Its walls are brown and flustered with numerous cracks, writings and drawings. Most of the drawings and writings don’t make any sense, they almost look like a schizophrenic patient’s thougths and imaginations. There are many wooden windows but most of them are either completely destroyed or partially shattered. The grass is also overgrown and unkempt, presumably decades long, it looks like a small jungle. Why were they brought here, is going through every competitor’s mind right now.

Minerva stepped in front of the confused crowd, with a hint of amusement on her face at their initial reactions.

“Welcome to the spot of the third and final phase. This should be the hardest and most difficult phase so far but you already expected that, didn’t you? Now, I don’t know if it was mentioned before but I’ll remind you again. Each phase has a secret name which directly corresponds to the overall theme of the task. First phase was Patience. Second phase was Endurance. And this phase will be called Survival.”

The crowd started to talk amongst themselves, each having their own theory on what this could mean. But at the core of it all, everyone knew one thing; this was going to be bloodier than the last phase.

“This was once a sanatorium and an asylum both, one of the largest in this country. It was closed decades ago when rumors spread out, which later turned out to be true, about the various forms of abuse the patients suffered here from the medical staff but also the other employees like the janitors or cleaners. Now, the 50 of you that have remained, your task is to enter this vast complex and fight to the death. To make things more interesting, we also brought some prisoners who are on death row who will oppose you and try to kill you.”

Zane and Malik didn’t give any comment since their mouths were too wide open to speak. This just kept getting worse and worse. A battle to the death added with prisoners who are already sentenced to death seems like a cherry on top of a chocolate cake with cream. But this wasn’t the end of it of course, since life always goes from bad to worse.

“There are 20 prisoners who are already inside waiting so be prepared. Also, our little committee has decided that we will accept 10 new Rangers for this year so you know what that means. The last 10 of you left standing will become new Rangers of the P.S.A.”

Yataro raised his hand but he didn’t seem flustered or bewildered. Instead he kept his usual composed demeanor.

“What if some of the prisoners survive to the last ten? Does that mean that they’ll become Rangers even though they’re convicted felons who are awaiting the death sentence?”

Minerva giggled as she played with her fingers.

“Correct. That’s the reason why they accepted this deal we offered them. In prison only death awaits them sooner or later but here they’ll either die quicker or even buy themselves freedom and become Rangers which will grant them huge benefits in their life outside of bars.”

“But isn’t that insane? You’re willing to let these monsters out if they win and make them Rangers? I thought Rangers were supposed to uphold justice and peace? How can we trust these villains with that?” The guy with the bowlcut hair and glasses spoke up for the first time since the Competition started. His voice was delicate but very firm.

“Those questions are understandable from an uneducated point of view but you all forget one crucial thing; the S.S.C. as well as all its lower branches are a Non-Governmental Organization or N.G.O. meaning we have laws outside of the realm of other countries or any other judicial system. For those of you who’ll become Rangers, you’ll learn in the future what I mean. For the rest of you, well, you won’t learn anything, since you’ll be dead.”

One of the competitors asked if they could quit if they didn’t want to go ahead with this challenge like they did in the second phase. However, the answer horrified them all. Minerva didn’t allow them. Everyone who was here now must go on and enter the sanatorium. The security guards didn’t think twice before whipping out their guns and cocking them, getting ready to shoot anyone who attempted to disrupt the ongoing phase. But that still didn’t stop some from attempting to escape as 10 competitors ran for their lives trying to escape through the dense forest. Half of the security guards went after them and after several minutes of chasing and shots fired, the security guards returned, confirming to Minerva that every competitor who tried escaping was shot to death.

“Excellent, with those cowards dead we can finally begin our third phase, everyone please follow me.” Minerva went ahead as the remaining 40 competitors followed her with the other P.S.A. staff soon following them. They stopped near the sanatorium where vegetation had already planted its roots a long time ago and grew out of the wall cracks and windows making for an oddly equisite sight.

The sanatorium was built in the shape of the capital letter of L, with the starting point being from the northern side while the end point is to the south-east. There are five entrances. Entrance A, the primary entrance from the northern side, Entrance B, the secondary entrance from the south-eastern side, Entrance C, the tertiary entrance to the southern side and Entrance D, the quaternary entrance located in the middle corner of Entrance A and Entrance B. There is also a secret trapdoor called Entrance E, which was originally a basement and now leads into the underground sewer system.

“We have set up dozens of cameras inside the building so we’ll be following your every step. When we notice that there is ten of you remaining, we’ll notify you all by sounding our horn. I said it before that you’ll be fighting each other to death but this is more complex than that. This is about survival. Do whatever necessary to be one of the last ten standing. This is your ultimate test, your whole life so far has led you to this moment.” Minerva waves her hand as she explains the rules.

The remaining 40 are calmer now as it is. Soon enough, they’ll be slaughtering one another in addition to bloodthirsty murderers, rapists, cannibals and other scum that’s waiting for them inside and that have already accepted death as a respite.

“I want you all to divide into four groups of 10 now as quickly as possible. Do it, now.”

As Minerva commanded them, the competitors didn’t wait for long as they looked at each other and just in a random way, started to move until four groups of 10 competitors each were formed.

“Okay, now I’ll give you all a name. This is Group A, this is Group B, this is Group C and this is Group D.” She pointed at them as they all talked amongst themselves.

She further explained how this isn’t going to be a teamfight but this was just so every group can enter the sanatorium through a different entrance. Each group corresponds to the same entrance letter.

Zane and Malik were mortified. They were in Group A and with them were also the blonde twins, Vincent and Marnie. When they noticed each other, the twins grinned in a sinister and ominous way while Zane and Malik tried to maintain a calm disposition.

Yataro and Ling found themselves in Group B. Their group didn’t look particularly tough as they distanced themselves in fear from Ling’s intimidating aura while Yataro just kept a resting face.

“Don’t worry Alsin, we’ll survive, just keep close to me and you’ll be fine.” The bowlcut guy with the glasses reassured the pink-haired guy with pierced ears.

“Yeah, thanks Toby, I believe not in me, but in you.” Alsin replied as he nodded. They were both placed in Group C, which has some strong individuals.

The last group, Group D, had the cowboy guy, Wayne, and an unusually bumpy and energetic young girl of short height by the name of Izzy. Her long, green-dyed pigtails dashed around her as she was pouncing around and warming herself up. Wayne looked at her with puzzled eyes as the rest of their group also prepared between one another.

“Listen very carefully now. You have fifteen minutes to enter the sanatorium and place yourselves however you want. You can hide somewhere or wait in the open, whatever suits you, you have complete freedom, but you cannot leave the building and you cannot attack or disrupt any other competitor during this time frame. If we notice you doing this, you’ll get disqualified and eliminated by lethal force. Next, when the fifteen minutes run out, you’ll all be signaled by a loud horn noise, which will mark the beginning of the third phase and then you can start the game of survival. When we see that only ten of you are left alive, we’ll ring the horn again and that’ll mark the end of the third phase and of the Competition as a whole. Any other questions?”

“Are we allowed to use weapons?” Someone asked.

“Yes. You can use whatever you want when the horn goes off. Anything else?”

“Will the death-row convicts attack us during the preparation phase?”

“No they won’t, they’ll be released from the rooms holding them in at the exact same moment we ring the horn. Is that it?”

Nobody raised their hand or said anything for the next minute, which caused Minerva to order everyone to go to their respective entrance.

Not wasting any more time, the remaining 40 competitors entered the sanatorium, each group through their entrance. The P.S.A. agents outside quickly set up a makeshift table and chair for Minerva to sit on and deployed a laptop which had a live video feed of every camera in the sanatorium.

The competitors dispersed inside as the gloomy and depressing atmosphere inside of the sanatorium immediately filled them all with dread and insanity. Just the thought of fighting to the death in a place where hundreds and hundreds of people were being held because of various mental and pandemic illnesses and on top of that abused, makes this thing even more morbid and disturbing.

Zane and Malik looked for a small room to hide. They found one just bellow the stairs, which looked like a small storage room. Opening the aged door with a creak, they went inside and closed it again, blocking it with a broom. The inside of the room was very claustrophobic and tight, with some ancient cleaning utensils and tools which were in a horrible state of decay.

“So, how are we gonna do this? Do we really need to kill other people?” Zane whispered to Malik.

“Let’s try and hide here. If we get found, we’ll fight back, and try not to use lethal force. But if our lives are in danger than we’ll have to use lethal force. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

They heard other competitors talking and running around but fortunately for them nobody came looking at their door. Fifteen minutes passed and Minerva nodded to the megaphone guy, who blew inside of a large horn to emit a large and ear-piercing sound, which marked the official beginning of the third phase of the tournament. The hunt is on.

A new NPC has entered the game!

- Player Information -

First Name – Minerva

Middle Name – Holly

Last Name – Caulfield

Gender - Female

Birthday – May 9th

Age – 63

Blood Type - B+

Species – Human

Skin Color – Fair

Height – 155 cm

Weight – 60 kg

Hair Color – Graying

Hair Style – Tied in a bun

Eye Color – Dark green

Facial Hair – None

Facial Hair Color –None

Clothing Style – A Victorian-era dark-blue polka dot dress with a pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a golden wrist watch.

Unique Body Features – None

Relationships - ?

- Stats -

Strength – 25

Speed – 30

Dexterity – 20

Agility – 20

Intelligence – 80

Ike Knowledge – 200

Willpower – 65

Endurance – 20

Unarmed Combat – 30

Armed Combat – 30

Aura Color - Black