Chapter 5: Arena Anamniseis

Andrew Evangelista

I woke up with the sound of the chirping bird landing on my palm. I blinked my eyes several times and yawned. While rubbing my eyes, I looked around and saw my teammates laying down around. The picturesque surroundings were blurry in my end not until that single bird landed on my knee and chipped again. I looked down at my hand and saw that it was covered in actual filth and dust.

I glanced at my side and saw a huge tower with a label: Epitychía Tower.

Where are we?

"What's this place?" Elle enquired with a curious wrinkle forming on her brow. Almost immediately, she got to her feet and began to explore the woodland setting, which seemed to be quite genuine. She moved closer to the bushes and ran her fingers over the foliage.

Rona asked, "Is it real?"

While she looks at her fingers, Elle's mouth is slightly agape and hanging open. She gently turned around to face us, and as she did so, she flicked her hair in an erratic manner.

"Well, yes! It's freaking real!" It seemed as though she could not believe what she was hearing, as shown by her exclamation of shock, which left the rest of us feeling awakened from struckness.

Elle rolled her eyes in response to Daniel's scolding, which was something along the lines of, "Damn, you don't really need to yell like that, lady."

When we got up, the holographic figures of the heroes we had selected had already been brought back into view. While Riel was standing next to me, he continued anxiously scanning the area around us. His fingers seemed to be trembling slightly, and he was unable to even take a single foot forward.

"Everything's right?" I asked.

Riel gave a sharp shake of the head. I was ready to ask him why, but he instantly denied it and said that he was simply lying when I confronted him about it. He began picking at his nails and biting them. I sensed his anxiety and informed him, "You are nervous, I can feel it." He stopped moving and took a few steps back.

He gave me a sideways glance and nodded his head without looking in my direction.

"I feel the same. But, given that we are a group, we will make an effort to support one another and collaborate closely. Okay?" I moved closer to him and tapped him on the back as I approached his side. In spite of this, he still didn't look. He responded similarly to that of Dayen.

In relation to her, she took a break on a nearby rock that was sufficiently large enough for her to sit. She was staring at her reflection in the water as she looked down at the bank of the river. While everyone else was busy savoring the surroundings of this enchanted virtual reality that seemed like a forest since it honestly seems unreal here, I made my way closer to Dayen in order to confer with her.

It was later then I found out that she was having fun paddling the smaller waves on the lake with her fingertips. After looking down, I saw that I could also see my reflection there.

"H-Hello…" I poked her attention while hesitating. These folks who are here with me at the moment are undoubtedly lugging their own belongings, just as I am. It's just that some people are skilled at pretending that they weren't having it in the first place.

I mean, isn't that the whole point of our being here in the first place?

"Oh, guys! Look! It's real water!" When Rona found out about the lake, she immediately told everyone. As was to be anticipated, every single one of them looked down the lake.

Daniel made a joke about his life after touching the water and seeing that his hands were becoming wet. He said, "Damn, this condition made me doubt my existence."

"Lmao, don't discuss existence. After consenting to the terms, it seems as if we are no longer in existence," Elle pointed out while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Tsk.'

I sighed.

"Welcome to Last Byte! Where only the strongest survive!"

All of our eyes looked up to the sky and there's a sun shining upon us. This is where that PA voice came from. The sun also makes us blind while looking at it. I couldn't believe what I saw as I couldn't fathom the genius minds behind this Last Byte and Ensiger collaboration.

Elle gasped, "Sht! I didn't know that the sun is also real!"

"You have a minute to enter the Arena Anamniseis battleground. Destroy all the turrets, and bring the Epitycha Tower to its knees!"

The voice of the public address announcer altered to sound very much like the voices I often hear while playing Last Byte on my phone. Hearing this voice brings back fond memories, and I cannot help but laugh. The Epitychia Tower is the most important tower, and it serves as the adversaries' major stronghold, which we need to destroy in order to triumph.

"Why is she speaking alien words that I couldn't understand?!" Daniel complained, asking our help to elaborate the words for him.

"As far as I can tell, it indicates that in order for us to reach the Epitychia Tower, we will first have to traverse all three of the turrets of the Efkairies in a straight line. In order to accomplish this goal, we will have to compete with the other group. It is important that we take down their tower before they can get to ours.… If my memory is right…" Rona elaborated with contemplation.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "There are nine turrets all in all. Three in our left, three in our right, and three in our middle," I explained while pointing at the hollow ways in front of us. "You are correct when you mentioned breaking three turrets in a row to reach the enemy's base."

"That means… We have to kill?" Elle questioned. Her face furrowed in disgust.

Daniel chuckled, "Obviously. Why? Are you afraid to kill?"

"No!" Elle instantly refuted the suggestion while stamping her feet on the floor. "I don't want any blood to go all over my skin!" She continued her line of reasoning, "My skin, in addition to the rest of my body, is significant in my work!"

Daniel walked away even before Elle finished her sentence. I looked down, made a face palm, and shook my head. One minute had almost ended and we still didn't move our way.

"Anyway, what's the plan?" Rona asked, looking at me.

"We are supposed to separate and go to our designated lanes. Where would you all want to go, guys?"

"Left lane?"

"I'll go to the left lane with Rona too."

"Let me take the right lane alone," Daniel volunteered with confidence.

Rona and Elle will go to the left lane. Daniel will enter the right lane. I guess me and Riel will have to strike the middle.

"Me as a fighter. Elle as a mage. Daniel as an assassin. Andrew as a marksman, and Riel as the support. We need a tank," Rona suggested.

I looked away towards Dayen, who was still down at the river, before I looked back at them. "Dayen is our tank," I told them.

Daniel made a face palm and mumbled. "Why does that lady choose a fighter that doesn't fit her strength! Look at her. She probably wants someone to console her and treat her like a baby."

All of us looked at him in silence. Rona and I exchanged sight. "A-Ahm… That wasn't a nice thing to say, Daniel," she pointed out but Daniel just shrugged his shoulders and placed his hands inside the pocket of his pants.

I stretched my head from left to right and gathered the group. "Lets spread now. We have no time left. Our enemies are surely moving towards our base now," I reminded them.

We were all of the same mind. When everyone else departed except for Riel, I gave Dayen a sideways look and said, "Remember, you will be our substitute. In the unfortunate event that one of our members died in the game, you will be in charge of arranging his or her exchange."

Even though I am certain that she heard me, she did not provide a response to my question. Before moving forward into the center lane, all I did was let out a sigh and shake my head. As we walked away without her, the weight of the world seemed to be on my foot. Riel even walked ahead of me because of my hesitation, and he seldom stopped walking and waited for me to catch up with him.

"She'll not join us?" Riel asked as soon as our walking speed arised.

And since the bow was simply a hologram, I gripped it tightly and squeezed my fingers instead.

"It truly depends on her when that situation happens."