The train

"[Personal assistant activated... Hello, master!]"

On the way, Jacob saw a ball flying invisibly but predictably under his sight. This was his support tool, an advanced artificial intelligence machine that would be of great help to him once the games began.

The machine had awakened with him in this world. In fact, it was thanks to the machine that he was able to familiarize himself with the rebel group in District Twelve. However, beyond simple conversation and information gathering, it hadn't served him for anything else. But once the events began, his personal assistant would be very useful to him.

"Stay silent near me." Jacob said indifferently, without changing his expression.

"[Understood, master!]"

The peacekeeper beside Jacob noticed that he spoke and looked around to see if anyone had approached, but he found nothing, so after glancing at the tribute who volunteered, he decided to ignore this intriguing fact.

The train station was close to the Justice Building. Like a traveler of worlds, although he had never traveled by car since he arrived here, he needed to gather information and inevitably found the train station.

Although as a resident of District Twelve, he usually traveled on foot in the Seam. On the way, Jacob brushed the strands of hair from his eyes and showed an indifferent expression. He hadn't cried, nor did he feel uneasy at the moment.

"Yes, I am a volunteer tribute!" The station could be seen crowded with journalists pointing their cameras at the tributes, as if they were new toys soon to be discarded.

But Jacob didn't care about this. Ever since the trial had started, there were cameras during his transfer to a prison, and all those judgmental looks from head to toe, as if everyone had the right to decide his future.

Katniss, on the other side, was glancing at the television screen on the wall, where the events were being broadcasted, and they soon shifted to Jacob, who, unlike her, seemed to exude charisma in every subtle movement.

"Too fake." Katniss muttered with a slight annoyance on her bored face.

However, Jacob, who was doing his job, greeted all the people around him who looked at them in various ways.

Unlike Jacob, Katniss was intrigued by the strategy he would employ in the games. But for Jacob, his strategy had already begun when he volunteered as a tribute. His survival game had started long before.

Jacob's sickly complexion didn't give the people of District Twelve much confidence. There were even rumors circulating that he was very ill, and that's why he had volunteered as a tribute. However, these rumors were spread by Jacob's peers, who were trying to provide him with many tools that he would definitely need to win.

But Jacob honestly didn't care. In truth, he wasn't interested in hiding his abilities. If his sickly appearance gave people the impression of weakness, the only thing that awaited them in the arena was certain death.

Jacob knew the story of the girl from District 7 who pretended and it worked well a few years ago. But pretending to be a crying idiot and a coward so that no one would worry about him was not something he sought. Although in these games, he would have no mercy even for Katniss, he had to have certain reserved skills.

"Yes, bet on me because I will win." Jacob struck a few poses, showing his chest and smiling. The impression Jacob was giving to all the photographers and cameras was unique among tributes from the poorer districts.

As expected, they had to stay together for a few minutes at the train's entrance, while the cameras pointed at them, capturing their images. After this scene, they would be allowed to enter the car, and the doors would gradually close.

"You rotten, Jacob!"

Unashamedly, Jacob looked at the drunk man who had yelled at him and, after approaching the man, spat in his face.

"I love you too!"

Jacob's action made the old drunkard shout threats and curse words into the air, but upon seeing the peacekeepers staring at him, the old man left out of fear.

"This is fascinating..." Jacob shamelessly did all kinds of things to attract the cameras' attention, and what he had just done had left everyone speechless, witnessing his behavior.

"Get on now!"

After seeing the situation intensify at the train station, the peacekeepers hastened the process, and Jacob, along with Katniss, boarded the train. A few minutes later, the train started moving and slowly distanced itself from the station, picking up speed.

Initially, the speed was impressive, even surprising Jacob. It was curious because he had never been on a train before. He had traveled by plane to visit his grandmother in another state, but a train ride was a completely new experience for him, so his reaction was genuine.

This train was one of the high-speed models from the Capitol, similar to the bullet trains in Japan, but this train reached an average speed of four hundred kilometers per hour, which was double the average speed of a bullet train. Therefore, their journey to the Capitol would take less than a day.

From all the information gathered by his personal assistant, Jacob knew that the Capitol was built in a place formerly known as the Rockies. District 12 was in a region known as the Appalachians, and even centuries ago, coal was already being extracted from the area. That's why as a miner, Jacob and the others had to work at great depths.

The entire District 12 relied on coal, to the extent that it was the only thing taught in schools eventually. But Jacob didn't care about history and those kinds of things, so he didn't pay attention to it.

"A place without dust..." Jacob looked at the train with a comforting gaze.

The tribute train was even more elegant than the rooms in the Justice Building. Both he and Katniss had their own accommodations, consisting of a bedroom, a dressing room, and a private bathroom with running water that was both hot and cold. At home, he usually had to bathe with cold water, except during cold times when he couldn't afford a cold bath.

There were drawers filled with nice clothes, and Jacob, as someone who had nothing to lose, felt a desire for them. After taking a thorough shower, he dressed himself in a trivial manner since all this new clothing was at his disposal.

"[Master, I recommend a white shirt with a black jacket. That color combination will enhance the tone of your skin!]"

"Do you do that too?" Jacob was surprised by his personal assistant's sudden intervention, so he followed its advice, as he had no idea what to choose.

The only obligation Jacob had was to attend dinner, which was in an hour. So after dressing slowly, he looked at his appearance in the mirror.

The body in front of the mirror was an avatar, and currently, he was seventeen years old, although his mentality didn't really exceed that of a fifteen-year-old. Despite all these diverse experiences, his age was the least important thing.

But it should be noted that his current body is an avatar of his seventeen-year-old self. Initially, Jacob related this phenomenon as a human avatar used as a secondary body, representing the orb in this world.

Furthermore, according to his personal assistant, this type of avatar that he would use from now on to interact and move in the worlds he visits is definitive.

Although this avatar couldn't be customized with different physical characteristics, it could adopt his genuine appearance, so the sensation wasn't too strange.

"Well, I suppose it's time to start preparing..." Jacob looked at himself in the mirror, and a determined expression formed beneath his indifferent aura.