The big guy and his men

"No one can see other's stats. Why do you ask that? Can you see mine?" The big guy asked with a frown.

The atmosphere in the den turned serious in an instant.

Cyril could feel the air that could be cut through a knife. He felt the pressure pressing over his head.

One wrong word and he knows he is done for.

His mind started to run. Finding other's stats is dangerous so there is no way they would let a person who could see their stats live.

He understood this point immediately.

He recalled what the big guy had told earlier.

Even if a person was killed inside this prison, there is no one who would care.

Cyril was a new prisoner whom no one knew. Even if he is dead, there is no one who would at least care to find out where he is or if he is still alive or not.

This thought made him gulp his saliva in fear.

He slowly shook his head, "No. Since you are all my seniors in this place, I thought you all could see my stats. So, even the seniors couldn't see our stats?"

As soon as they heard his words, all their expressions relaxed instantly. Cyril understood that he used the right words and sighed in relief.

The big guy smiled and patted his shoulder as he said, "Oh that? No. No. No. No one in this prison can see other's stats. Even the highest leveled ones can't. I have been in this prison for a long time and I know the way around things. So, I am at least sure of this. You can trust your big brother, kid."

"..." 'Like hell would I trust you. I am standing right in front of you and can see your stats as clear as a day and you still didn't know. I don't know how many others were hiding it like I did. Sigh, you big fool. No wonder you are still suffering in level 20 even after staying in this prison for so long.' Cyril had a monologue all to himself.

He gave an obedient smile on the surface and nodded, "I understand, Big Brother. Of course, I trust you the most. Anyway, Big Brother, if you don't mind, can I ask you a question?"

No matter what, he shouldn't let the big guy ask him his level. He doesn't know what he will do once he finds that his level is way higher than his.

"What is it, kid? Why are you so formal in front of your big brother, huh?" The big guy had a smile an amiable elder would have as he asked.

Cyril gave an awkward smile as he asked in a soft voice, "Umm, that, since you have been here for so long, why are you still under level twenty? Didn't you finish enough tasks and gain enough points to level up?"

The big guy understood why the kid was feeling awkward to ask the question.

He did not care about it much and laughed out loud, "Ha ha ha, Well, you are not wrong kid. I couldn't finish my tasks. Well you see, my identity is a brawler. And as a brawler, most of my tasks have been to fight others. But look around."

Cyril looked around as the big guy told him to. Even though most of them were as muscular as the big guy was, their eyes showed fear and obedience when they looked at the big guy. No matter what, the big guy was the leader of this place. He had clearly subdued everyone in this ward without any exception.

"Did you see all these weaklings? How long can I fight these men when they look so scared? It became difficult to gain many points this way. For my class, I have to find another brawler so we can have continuous fights to gain points continuously.

"Unlucky for me, there has been no other brawler since a few years. The little points I got from other tasks were just enough for me to get some food and other basic requirements. Where can I have any spare points to gain my level? So, I stopped caring about leveling up and decided to stay here. At least this way, I can take care of these young ones, right?" The big guy explained patiently.

His words also confirmed Cyril's previous doubt that he came to fight him for the sake of his tasks.

He then looked around to check all the other men's identities.

He was shocked. They were all not suitable for their bodies at all. One man had the identity of a 'Gardener'. One had a 'Florist'. One had 'Cook' and the other had 'garbage cleaner'.

???

The men had such strong muscles and they had to plant trees and collect garbage? What sort of assigning is this?

As the big guy had said, this ward just belongs to levels one through twenty. As such, the place allocated for Ward 1 was not big enough.

The poor guy, how many plants can he plant in this small area to gain some points? The other guy had to cook?

The prison gives food using machines and how could the man cook food? Even if he did, where can he get all the ingredients in this place?

Also, can the man even cook? He looked so scary like someone who could use a pan to destroy a man's head but not use that pan to slowly stir some food in it.

How did these men survive in this prison all these years with these weird identities they got?

That is when he understood why all these men depended on the big guy.

They formed a team to survive together but for a bunch of hooligans to work as a group, they definitely need a leader. Somehow the big guy fit many of the requirements needed to be a leader and they went along with this arrangement for so long.

Cyril couldn't help but sigh as he felt some pity for all these men.

Then he realized that he was actually not in much better condition than they were. He was also a prisoner in this prison like them and most importantly he had yet to receive his identity.

He wondered what identity the system would allocate him.