Ranks.
The hierarchy within the Prison was decided by ranks– and the ranks were decided through battle. It seemed old-fashioned, but even the staff of the prison treated it as entertainment– even placing bets on the prisoners themselves.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the battles have become a daily event; no, one might even say that it was an hourly event since battles could happen in the prison at any given time. But of course, if no one was there to see it, then it might as well have never happened.
And so, usually, when someone wants to rise in ranks, a certain preparation would happen– there was issuing a challenge in front of many witnesses, setting the time, and then there was the actual battle. Sometimes, however, those three all happen at the same hour.
The ranks of the lowest don't really matter, and respect is only given once you step in the top 50. This wall, however, was not easy to surpass. Those who have been in the top 50 have been there for years. After all, if one wanted to challenge them, they would have to fight their way through the ranks.
Killing was still not officially allowed in the prison, of course– even violence was against the rules. But of course, there was always a silver-lining.
Super Max Prison has declared the battles as an official activity-- an entertainment reserved for the prisoners the same as basketball and the gym… which the super prisoners only use as a hang-out place.
There were currently 200 prisoners inside the prison. And with Riley the newest addition to the flock, he was currently the lowest rank– 200.
"And that's how it usually works," the old man, who named himself Yuri, clapped his hands as he finished explaining to Riley how the rankings worked.
Riley, however, only let out a small hum as he touched the glass wall separating the 150 of them from the top 50.
"That seems counter-productive, Mr. Yuri," Riley then let out a small breath, "So if I wanted a bigger room, I need to challenge those in top 199 to 51?"
"...Yes," Yuri replied, "Now let's go, you don't want to be seen even eyeing those in the top 50. Even the guards are protective of them– the politics in this prison runs deeper than you could–"
And before Yuri could finish his words, a small crack whispered to his ear–no. Not only to his ears, but the crack whispered through the entire yard, causing everyone to turn their heads towards Riley.
They then turned their heads towards his hand, which was touching the glass that now had a web of cracks littered all over it.
"...Oops?" Riley then whispered as a small smile slowly crawled on his face.
[Prisoner 666, stop what you're doing this instant!]
And with even a second of him doing so, a voice rang from all the speakers hidden within the prison. And without even a minute, several guards, who had their faces covered with some sort of helmet, started emerging from the holes that suddenly opened up in the ground.
"..." It would seem that even though most of the part of the prison Riley had seen seemed dilapidated, the Super Max Prison seemed to have a more advanced side to it– obviously reserved for those higher up in the rankings.
Riley was quite weirded out with how the prison's system works– maybe he should start implementing something like this in his Guesthouse as well?
"Prisoner 666, lay flat face-first on the ground and put your hands behind your head! This is your only warning!"
One of the guards that were slowly approaching him then said; pointing some sort of gun that had lines of red light trailing across it. The other guards also did the same, their guns seemingly pointed at different parts of Riley's body.
"If I don't do as you say, then will you shoot me with tho–"
And before Riley could even finish his words, several whistles started to echo through the air as flashes of red light started bombarding his eyes.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as he looked at the several red orbs now floating just inches away from his body. He then slowly moved his hand towards one of the orbs, making it fly near his face so he could see what it was– but it really is just what it seemed, a red orb.
"What is this?" Riley then muttered as he turned his head towards the guard that warned him. The guard, however, did not answer him but instead, all the guards once again pressed the trigger; causing another batch of red light to beam towards different parts of Riley's body almost instantly.
This beam, however, once again turned into an orb as it stopped just short of hitting Riley.
"I haven't seen this kind of bullet before," Riley continued to speak as if he wasn't just almost riddled with the red orbs, "What does it do?"
Once again, however, his question was answered by the guards firing at him; And judging by the soft twitching of their bodies, they were starting to get a little nervous. They were already briefed about the new prisoner– a telekinetic too strong that he was suspected and framed to be Darkday.
They were also briefed by warden Yakovich that Riley was more than likely to cause trouble… but to think it would be within an hour of him being officially accepted as a prisoner– it would seem his reputation was still an understatement.
"What does it do?" Riley once again repeated his question; this time, however, the only response he received was silence; with the guards just looking at each other as if asking what they should do now since their guns proved to be ineffective.
But almost as if someone answered their prayers, a small tapping could be heard from the cracked glass. They all turned to look at what was making that sound, only to see someone knocking from the other side of the glass.
"..." The man seemed to be saying something, but not even a whisper could be heard from the cracks of the glass– a testament to how thick it actually was. Still, the man continued to talk, his eyes looking at the guards and smiling.
A few seconds after, however, a small rumbling started to ring in the air; along with it, small shards of glass started falling from the cracks as well. And soon, the entire wall separating the top 50 from the rest of the prisoners trembled– no, it vibrated.
From afar, it almost seemed like the glass was moving in a wave. And soon… the glass just crumbled.
"I've been talking for almost a full minute," the words of the man could finally be heard; his feet, stepping forward even as some shards were still dropping to the ground. These sharp shards, however, shattered almost into fine salt as it made contact with him.
"I didn't realize you guys aren't actually hearing me," the man then let out a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head; his black disheveled hair, letting out a sort of buzz as he did so.
"Prisoner 582, please return to your designated area!"
"It's fine, it's fine," the man only waved his hand as he continued to walk towards… Riley,
"I'm here to help you guys reign in the fish. And wow, you're even whiter now that I see you up close," he then said as he looked at Riley from head to toe,
"What do you say, fish? Ready to calm down?"
"Once again, I am not a fish," Riley answered casually, "And I am already calm, Prisoner 582; maybe a little excited."
"Hoh, look at this little bitch," Prisoner 582 let out a scoffing chuckle; pointing at him as he looked at the guards, "You guys seem to be taking in some weird people. So, do you want my help in putting him down, or what? I'll be asking a favor from the big guy, though."
"We don't need any–"
"What rank are you, Prisoner 582?"
And before the guard could respond to Prisoner 582's question, Riley interrupted him.
"Heh, I'm at 42," Prisoner 582 said as he once again scratched his black disheveled hair; his face, seemingly proud with what he just said.
"If I defeat you, I won't take your position?"
"Pft, that's not how it works, fish," Prisoner 582 once again let out a scoff as the slightly amused expression on his face faded, "And I am starting to think I should beat you up even without gaining a favor from the warden."
Prisoner 582 then once again took a step forward towards Riley; the ground which he stood on, seemingly shattering as it vibrated at an insane speed.
"Alright," Prisoner 582 furrowed his eyebrows before he once again looked at the guards, "I'm giving this favor for free."
And without any warning, Prisoner 582's hand suddenly moved towards Riley. His palm, threatening to cover the entirety of Riley's face. His palm, however, stopped short of making contact with Riley; same as the red orbs still floating around him.
"Oh, quite a powerful telekinetic," Prisoner 582, however, only let out a small whistle as he saw hand being stopped, "But I've killed a lot of telekinetics before."
"Is that why you are here, Prisoner 582?" Riley once again only casually asked as he tilted his head to the side to look at Prisoner 582 straight in the eyes; the smile on his face, now reaching from ear to ear.
"Amongst other things," Prisoner 582 smirked, "And now I will add you to that list, fi–"
And before Prisoner 582 could finish his words, a small hole could be seen suddenly resting right in the center of his forehead. And soon, his head started to melt.
"Oh," Riley then let out a small hum before looking at one of the red orbs floating around him– which was now one less.
"So that's what it does."