The Ranch

Op ID (1)

Phillip takes Tih to eat in a cafe, visit Phillip's teacher, Sinclair, and shop around a little while Phillip works at the same time.

During which, Tih learns it's been over two days since everyone first entered the maze. No one knows what's going on inside and probably won't know until day three or until someone gets the prize.

Hearing the word prize, Tih takes out the old man's ID to observe it.

"Your ID?" Phillip's husky baritone enters Tih's ears.

In response, Tih pulls out his own ID.

Phillip raises a well-shaped eyebrow," You have two?"

Usually, when people have multiple ID, it can only mean a couple things. Either, they stole it when said person wasn't guarded or they were killed and it was taken off their body. The latter is easier and more likely.

He's fully aware of many corrupt businesses that trade and sell IDs. There's even an occupation for it. Of course, this job is more of an open secret. No one would want to openly announce that they take people's ID's.

Most people in the profession are in it because they had a lack of better options. They couldn't get another job and joined this high risk, high reward occupation. The occupation is not without its risks.

IDs that are actually worth anything aren't owned by newbies, but by more experienced islanders. Some people are hired to steal specific people's IDs. The type of procedure they use would be up to the buyer.

"Can I see?" Phillip doesn't question Tih's methods of acquiring. After Tih puts it in Phillip's palm, they go over to a more secluded electronic board and insert it.

Information starts appearing:

[Name: Alphonse Wilmhelmer

Trials completed: 453

Occupation: Silver-star Physicist

Red-star Biochemist

Purple-star Finance management

Kquil: 12,273,296]

"This..." Phillip's well-groomed eyebrows scrunch together in contemplation. The owner's name seems vaguely familiar, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

Besides that, the amount of trials attests to how experienced this Alphonse should be and his credits how how financially powerful he is, not to mention his prestigious occupations.

Phillip glances at the naive Tih whose already gotten bored of the words on the screen and is observing his surroundings. Phillip decides to go visit his master, to see if he knows who Alphonse is.

They find Sinclair in his office working. He looks up from his work after hearing them enter. "Phillip? Is there something wrong? Oh, Tih. It's good to see you again." They are met with his calm and mellow aura.

"Actually Sensei, there's something I wanted you to check out. I thought his name sounded familiar, so I thought you might know who he is." Phillip walks around his teacher's desk to stand next to him before placing the ID on the desk.

Sinclair inspects the normal looking ID before inserting it into his desk. The holographic screen appears with the information on Alphonse.

Sinclair's mellow attitude disappears as his eyebrows jump. He stares at the screen with widened eyes.

In an almost rushed tone, he asks," Phillip, where did you get this?"

Phillip is surprised by his master's strange reaction," Uh, that's, I got it from Tih."

Sinclair meets eyes with Tih," Where did you get this from."

Tih points in a certain direction, a place outside of the room they're in.

"Over there should be...the colosseum?" Phillip estimates.

"The maze." Sinclair says conclusively. He jumps up from his seat, about to head over there, but stops himself. He shakes his head with resignation and sits back down with a sigh.

"M-Sensei, do you know him?" Phillip is worried by his teacher's weird reaction.

Sinclair turns his head up to lease at the ceiling in thought, "Hmm...not exactly. For a few decades, he was the idol of every scientist on the island. He's made many contributions, including the latest version of these." He taps at the holographic screen just for his finger to faze through.

"He was also a major player in our shift to a completely eco-friendly island." Sinclair adds like its nothing. "If I'm correct, they should have placed one of his tools in the restricted area.

Tih recalls the place he went to after the newcomer's tournament. He combs through his memory until the picture of a fist-sized black cube comes up. After Tih pulled it out from the side of a tree, he accidentally clicked something and a relatively elementary version of a holographic screen appeared above the cube.

Tih had already observed the holographic screen by then and threw the cube in with the rest of the pile of tools. What Tih didn't and still doesn't know, is that that cube was one of the very first versions of the holographic screen ever created.

"Ah...now that I think of it, he should be in his late forties." Sinclair recalls.

Tih remembers Private Scott told them that they could only leave the island once they turned fifty.

"Really? He's still alive despite having no combat occupations? But I thought the only people that can live that long need to be at least red-star combat instructors?"

"Not necessarily. There have been other outliers in the past, but none have made it past their third year. Even among red and silver star instructors, none have made it past their fifteenth year, at least not from what I've heard of."

Tih listens to their conversation in confusion, out of the loop. Phillip and Sinclair stop discussing among themselves when they feel Tih's gaze and remember he's still in the room.

Phillip looks to his teacher for approval and Sinclair nods. Phillip kneels next to Tih and whispers in his ear," It's well-known among normal soldiers that they can leave Ranch island once they reach fifty, but that more of a goal, a hope that's been passed down from generation to generation. The reason why it's fifty...is because no ones been able to live till their sixties. No one knows what headquarters will do if someone from the island lives past that age, so it's more of a desperate dream than anything."

Phillip brings his face away from Tih's and Tih gets to see his somewhat downcast expression. He doesn't exactly understand. Do they get to try new foods if they leave the island? Is it more interesting outside the island? Tih doesn't realize why so many people want to be rid of their current living situation and think escaping Ranch Island will give them a new, better life.