The ghost system

12 Physical disruption

"I said... You're awfully loud for someone so weak."

The guy bulldozed towards Rhys with a murderous look in his eyes. He raised his machete high in the air preparing to slice the blade down through Rhys's face.

Rhys stayed completely still, he had already calculated in his head what would happen so all he had to do now was enjoy the show. This would be an easy win for him and he was almost salivating at the thought of using his power again.

However, to Rhys's dismay, Otis suddenly darted out from behind the machete guy and instantly restrained him. Otis's thick arm coiled around the guy's throat while Otis's other hand captured the guy's weapon hand, rendering the guy completely immobile. It seemed that the system was right about Otis's being stronger than the machete guy because Otis was able to easily restrain him.

"FUCK!" The angry guy only got angrier. His face contorted in rage as his cheeks turned a violent red.

"I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill all of you!" Otis tightened his arm around the guy's neck and slightly lifted him off the ground. Otis hoped that the added forced would get the guy to comply and stop struggling.

"Just calm down," Otis commanded trying to sound firm but calm. "We can still all leave here, as long as you agree to go, we can leave."

"I'm not agreeing... to anything until... every one of you idiots is face down on the floor." He croaked out angrily while trying to stay conscious. Now that his airways were being obstructed by Otis's arm, the angry guy began to fight back with his full force. He flailed his legs and shook his torso as much as possible to try and get out of the hold.

Rhys watched on with a resigned frown knowing that his shining moment had been taken away from him. There would be no great reveal or victory lap for him. Otis had handled the situation before him, and Rhys was wondering whether he should have been more proactive.

"Quickly, someone help me secure his legs!" Otis grunted out as the angry guy's grey sneakers bashed into his shins painfully.

Rhys watched as another three strengthening auras rushed to help Otis. Two guys each held down his legs while the girl took his machete and restrained his right arm. They came so quickly and efficiently that Rhys wondered if they knew each other before the enrolment. Or was it just the earnest speech-giving Otis that spurred them into action.

"SHIT!" The angry guy roared. The humiliation and fury he was feeling grew.

Rhys sighed and looked drearily forward at what was happening in front of him. Rhys had imagined this cool scenario wherein he used his power against the angry guy and defeated him, then everyone would 'ooh' and 'aah' and look at him with newfound respect, thereafter he would walk into his new college life with a great reputation. That dream had gone down the toilet pretty quickly. However as he thought about the situation unfolding in front of him, he realised that there was one thing he could still do.

A quiet feminine voice broke through the tension in the air. "We can't go until everyone agrees to leave but if convincing him is our only chance, I think it's pointless..."

The girl with the water aura looked down at the floor guiltily while shakily twiddling her fingers. The rest of the people in the room had similar crestfallen expressions. The only reason that they were not fighting for the gold card was because their morale had been damaged after seeing the mass electrocution that had happened in room four. Now that there was resistance to their mutual agreement, their fragile wills were already crumbling.

"Don't lose hope guys!" Otis blurted out sensing the shift in the room.

"We just have to keep him like this for a while. He'll give up eventually if we keep applying pressure." Although Otis said it confidently, Rhys saw the worried lines on his forehead and knew Otis was actually a little concerned. It seemed the iron will of one machete-wielding idiot was enough to sway the convictions of the remaining eleven people.