Dean

"So you, my dear cadet will participate in the Hunt and make sure to dominate the game enough to get us an invite" Elizabeth said bringing the drink to her smirking lips.

"Why me though?" Reid asked "why can't you just do it yourself since you're a lot stronger than him".

"Because you're strong but not overwhelmingly so" She finished the drink and put the glass back "me fighting there would be overkill".

"I see" Reid nodded.

"And besides, it's too much work" she completed.

'so to sum it up, you're just lazy' Reid's eyebrow twitched but he didn't say anything else.

"Alright, let's sign you up for the next one" she said and they started walking to a certain booth "this one's about to end".

The booth was manned by a burly man with a shaved head and a no-nonsense demeanor.

A holo-screen hovered beside him, displaying names and rankings of participants, with flashing updates indicating winners and eliminations.

Elizabeth leaned casually against the counter.

"We're here to sign up," she said in a casual tone.

The man raised an eyebrow, giving her and Reid a once-over.

"For the Hunt?" he asked gruffly.

"Exactly. My friend here," she motioned to Reid, "is eager to show what he's made of."

Reid frowned. "I didn't exactly say—"

"Wonderful," Elizabeth cut him off, giving him a quick pat on the back before turning her attention back to the man. "When's the next round?"

The man tapped a few buttons on his console. "Next Hunt begins in thirty minutes. Last call for entries is in ten. Entry fee's 500 credits," he said, his tone making it clear this wasn't negotiable.

Elizabeth smirked and handed over a card. "Covering it, of course."

The man swiped the card and handed her a small token with a number etched on it. "He's in. Token 47. You'll need this to access the prep area."

As they walked away, Reid could hear the crowd erupting into cheers as the current match concluded. Elizabeth led him toward a corridor marked "Participants Only."

"You've got about twenty minutes to prepare," she said, glancing at him.

"Get your game face on. And remember..." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Dominate the game and get us that attention."

"Sure" Reid said with a confident grin.

"Okay then see ya later" she said "make sure you win because I'm going all in on you".

"You bet?" Reid asked, genuinely surprised "I thought you were already rich enough".

"Does it matter?" She replied with a question.

Reid thought about it for a few seconds before saying "I guess it doesn't".

Elizabeth left and he used his token to to unlock the prep area and enter.

Inside, there were already other participants. Some were huddled in groups while others sat quietly alone.

The room was silent for a moment as the others focused on the new comer before they went back to what they were doing.

Reid looked around before moving to an empty space and sat down, ignoring everyone else.

He closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself when suddenly a "Psst" sounded next to him, interrupting his mental preparation.

He looked to his left and spotted a dark-skinned boy who appeared no older than 16. The boy was waving enthusiastically, clearly trying to get Reid's attention.

"Hi! I'm Dean," the boy introduced himself with a wide grin. "You're new here, right? First Hunt?"

Reid raised an eyebrow, caught slightly off guard by the boy's friendliness.

"Yeah... something like that," he replied cautiously.

"I see, then do you know anything about the Hunt?" Dean asked, his friendly tone still persisting.

"I know that it's a hunting game" Reid answered.

"That's the gist of it, but there's a lot more to it," Dean replied, leaning in with a grin "but the Hunt is much more than a game. You'll be pitted against actual primals and sometimes other participants".

"Other participants?" Reid asked, catching his stress on 'participants'.

"The goal of the hunt is to gather the most cores" Dean said "but there wasn't a rule that states that you have to kill the primals yourself to get one".

"So some will just let the others hunt the primals and they'll reap the benefits by attacking them and stealing their hard earned cores".

"Isn't that cheating?" Reid asked.

"It's frowned upon but you won't be disqualified for doing it" Dean answered.

"And you're telling me this because?" Reid finally asked. In this day and age, nothing was for free so he expected this information to come with a price.

"Well you see, I'm more of a strategist and more of a fighter so I need someone who'll handle the fighting while I focus on the planning" he replied.

"Then why did you decide to choose me out of everyone here?"

There were people who, by appearance alone, seemed much more powerful than Reid so it was quiet baffling that Dean chose him.

"Well you see, my gut tells me you're my safest bet here and it has never been wrong before" Dean proudly answered and outstretched his hand "so what do you say? Let's team up?".

"Isn't the whole point of the game to have one winner?" Reid asked.

"Yes but no one said you can't team up with someone else" he answered.

Reid thought about it for a while. He could go solo, but having someone who was knowledgeable about the game had its merits, especially since he was new to the whole thing.

"Fine," he said finally, "but I get to call the shots during the Hunt."

"I'm cool with that." Dean replied.

Reid eyes took a dangerous glint. "And if you try anything funny—"

"Relax, man," Dean interrupted with a laugh. "Trust me, I play clean."

"I hope you do" Reid replied and took his outstretched hand.

As if on cue, someone spoke from the speakers in the room as soon as Reid shook Dean's hand.

"All participants, please make your way to the pit" The person announced "the Hunt is about to start"...

_____

We're finally going premium with the next chapter! To all the readers who've accompanied me on this journey but may stop here, due to not having coins to unlock my chapters, thank you for your support and for coming this far—it truly means the world to me.

For those continuing with me, get ready—because Reid's adventure is only just beginning!