I Am Number 10

NUMBER 006

"Who is that?" An instructor asked in wonder while looking at the huge screen in front. With her two eyes, she could see what was happening outside.

A man turned around while eating noodles. He was so busy working on something that he had no idea what was happening on the screen.

The tiredness is visible in his messy hair and sleep-deprived face. His skin is also turning pale, and the bottoms of his eyes are darkening.

"Who?" The man asked, wondering what his companion was referring to.

"That boy, the one who's wearing the claw. And by the way, whose idiot included that weapon in the selection group before presenting it to the students?" 

The man suddenly laughed while eating, causing him to choke. He drank water quickly and continued to laugh.

"Do you know that drinking water is not a solution to that?" His companion, looking at the screen, said lifelessly.

The man wiped his mouth and composed himself, still chuckling.

"No, I don't think water will fix that, and I am that idiot who put the gauntlet at the selection table. It must have slipped my mind when I arranged the weapons a while ago," he replied with a smirk.

The woman just sighed and shook her head, clearly unamused by the man's antics.

They were the only people inside the massive room, which had various bags of food scattered on the floor.

"Didn't you read the profile of those ten? I sent it to your house yesterday."

"I didn't read it. Now answer me, Who is that student wearing the claw?"

"That guy? He's the one who's responsible for the death of our elite team. Remember the times when there were rebels everywhere? Those stupid guys who wanted to take over the country. Anyway, you're on the East side of the assigned capital, that's why you didn't see what happened in the North..."

"... That kid was able to take down six members of the team, only using the iron string..."

"... Remember, these six elites are strong. Four of them are good when it comes to weapons, but not as good as you, of course."

The Instructor, who until now had remained facing the big screen, squinted when she heard it.

"What's his forte?"

"Oh, he's not that good at fighting. Weak stamina, and poor communication with his team. He's not even strong enough. He's just quick, and everything about him is terrible, except when it comes to understanding the blind spots, that one is a different story..."

"... We're only able to catch him when some random blind soldier knocks him out accidentally."

Their instructor could see, from the huge screen, Sean's gentle approach to his opponent.

Because of the loss of Nick's vision, he kneeled anxiously, angrily swinging the sword in all directions with his left hand.

He struggled to maintain his balance and control, often missing his target completely. The frustration and desperation were evident in his movements as he desperately tried to compensate for his lack of sight.

This one is very stupid compared to the ones I fought.

He didn't think twice about killing Nick before swinging the Clawed Gauntlet into the young man's neck.

"Don't move; my weapon is aimed at your neck."

Nick swallowed involuntarily when he felt something cold gently touch his neck. He stopped struggling.

Sean's right hand suddenly returned to being a black glove before quickly groping around the man's body to find his stick.

While busy searching, he suddenly heard a series of gunshots.

The sound was coming from quite close to their location; it must have come from people scrambling to get their sticks.

Sean just shook his head and resumed his search for a red-colored stick.

An angry woman turns to see her gun and quickly reloads her magazine while hiding in a broken building. She cursed in the air as she realized she only had a limited supply of bullets.

Shit, I'm trapped.

Her breaths came in ragged pants as she cast her gaze around.

It felt as if she had stumbled upon a forsaken place, one that had been forgotten by time itself. There were shattered structures everywhere.

Nature had successfully reclaimed its territory, with wild grasses triumphantly reclaiming the land, their untamed growth a clear indication of long abandonment.

 

The woman's heart raced as she contemplated her next move. She knew that staying hidden in the broken building wouldn't guarantee her safety for long. She needed to find a way out before her ammunition ran out and the enemy closed in on her location.

She considers her current situation carefully. She has a few scars and torn clothes, but she is still capable of fighting. As long as she doesn't run out of bullets, she has a chance.

She possessed two guns, but one of them was no longer useful, causing the woman to drop it.

Now, where is that sniper?

From a distance, another woman was carefully observing the woman's hiding place. It was Lucy.

She was gently sitting on a thick tree branch while holding her bow and arrow. The leaves of the tree where Lucy was hiding were too thick, resulting in the enemy having a hard time finding her location.

"I've been attacking her for a while now, but she still doesn't know where I am. It's a shame coming from a family that's known for being good at handling guns." She disappointedly shakes her head.

She slowly lowered the bow and arrow she was holding when she realized that the woman had not yet come out of hiding.

Lucy was busy observing the woman who was hiding when she heard a loud trumpet from the sky. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up to see where the noise was coming from.

A large drone flew across the sky, only to stop where everyone could see the message it was about to convey to them.

A hologram emerged from the drone, from which the face of a man with yellow hair was visible while smiling sweetly.

|Congratulations, Sean Hillary!|

Lucy just shook her head at what she saw and sighed heavily.

I thought it was something.

While looking at the sky, she suddenly felt a strong dizziness, causing her to lose her balance. She stumbled and reached out for something to hold onto, but there was nothing nearby.

As her body began to fall to the ground, everything seemed to slow down.

It was as if the girl's world suddenly stopped when she realized that her body was falling from the branch of a very tall tree.

Oh shit!

She can see how the leaves attached to each branch move softly and how some of them are gently separated once her body hits those branches.

Lucy slowly turned her gaze towards the position of the drone. Her eyes immediately narrowed when she saw the huge smile of the man in the sky, which seemed to insult Lucy's current condition.

She strongly cursed the image of the man seen smiling in the sky.

Feeling a surge of anger, Lucy clenched her fists and vowed to find a way to bring that man down from his high perch. She couldn't let him get away with mocking her like this.

Damn you, Sean Hillary, whoever you are!