Guardian academy (5) - Escape room

How long had it been??... A little over thirty minutes had passed since they woke up. They had tried everything yet there was no clue to make use of.

The poison gas had begun to affect the last ones standing. They felt their willpower drain and they felt completely hopeless.

They despaired in their hearts. Maybe they were stuck in this enclosed space with no way to break out. "What am I thinking?" Elena slammed the back of her head against the wall.

Apart from feeling despair, she also felt angry with herself. This was the first time she was in a position of authority as a leader yet she only succeeded in wasting their time. She wasn't fit to lead anyone.

She bit down on her lip, struggling against the hopelessness that came down heavily on her mental state. She could feel her mental defenses crumbling but she did not give up.

"How did it come to this?" Nathan was breathing heavily. He looked to the side and he saw Leah on the bed in the room. She was unconscious. For the first time since she woke up, she looked rather peaceful.

The sight would have been heart-warming if not for the state they were in. Nathan felt guilty as he stared at her. It was only a little over fifteen minutes ago when Leah completely lost it.

Elena decided to knock her out due to the adverse effects the poison gas had on her. He watched Jeremiah chop her neck, unable to do anything.

He bit down on his lip as he felt angry with himself. He had gotten the lowest scores in the entrance exams. He blamed the system for catering to the naturally gifted but what about now?...

This was a battle of wits. It was a puzzle they had to solve. He wasn't sure about the whole point of this but the fact that it was a puzzle made him believe he could solve and prove himself.

Yet… He was currently seated on the ground, completely hopeless as he felt despair weigh down on him. [Unshakeable will] was constantly activated.

He felt like if he did not get out of the room soon, he would surely fall into a coma. His life was slowly slipping away and he could sense it.

He looked to his left side to find Reyes laying down a few meters from him. His chest moved up and down in an uneven manner. It was clear he was struggling with the poison gas.

Nathan cursed inwardly. "How the hell am I going to save anyone when I can't pass a simple test like this!!" He did not want to give up. He wanted to prove to himself that he had what it took.

He struggled to keep a steady thought as his eyes slowly became unfocused and his body trembled. "Shit… is it going to end like this?... If this is a test, then the instructor in charge must be a psychopath."

Jeremiah tried to manage the trembling of his body with little luck. In this room, every single person was reduced to a weakling with no choice but to wait patiently for their fates to be decided.

"Ugh." Nathan bit his lower lip so hard he drew blood all just so he could concentrate. "Maybe the system…" He whispered, 'inform', and his status window appeared before him.

The stats were not important to him thus he quickly moved his attention to the passive skills listed out. He caught sight of one. "Eyes of Laplace…"

He was curious to know what his passive skills were capable of apart from [Unshakeable will]. If he based it on its name, it had to be a skill related to his eyesight.

Maybe one that improved them or allowed him to see things from another perspective. Unfortunately, he could not access information about the skills just yet.

He could only assume with the knowledge he had. Thus, he slowly rose to his feet. Elena saw him get up. "Nathan…" She called out to him but the latter was completely out of it as he crawled forward.

Reyes also noticed him moving as he slowly turned over to watch him. Nathan moved forward until he had gotten to the center of the room. Those still active watched him closely.

"What does he want to do?" They were curious to know despite their despairing states. Nathan sat up and allowed his buttocks to rest on his legs as he exhaled.

"[Unshakeable will] only activates whenever I am under any form of stress or pressure, just like how a passive skill is supposed to work. This means Eyes of Laplace would need a determiner before they are activated as well.

"But what if I tried to use a passive skill in an active setting. Would it work?... Of course, I have to consider the energy required to use an active skill. I'm almost completely drained here…

"Is it worth it to place my life on the line like this?... Not really, but I have to do this to assure myself that what I'm doing is right. If I can't even win in a battle of wits then what else do I have going for me?

"I'd rather just pack my bags and wait for humanity's extinction. Tch, how can I be so selfish?... Whatever, it's now or never.

"If this doesn't work, then I guess that's it." Nathan has decided to do something crazy. He wasn't sure if it would work but if it did, he would get a chance to make a statement, to everyone and especially, to himself.

Thus, he blinked. [Attempting to switch passive skill to an active skill for a limited period… Is user sure of this?]

The option of {Yes} and {No} appeared underneath the prompt. Nathan without a sliver of a doubt chose {Yes}.

{Commencing transition… Please wait…]

Nathan watched the loading bar as it moved from 0% to 100%. [Ding… Eyes of Laplace is now an Active skill. Would user like to activate it?]

Nathan quickly accepted as he struggled to his feet. Even though he did not ask for help, Elena and Reyes moved to his aid.

"What are you doing?" Reyes asked as he got to his feet. "I'm about to break this fucking puzzle," Nathan replied over labored breath as he managed to stand, albeit with shaky balance.

He closed his eyes and the moment he opened them, they were different. His irises had a blue circular ring around them with a few other lines drawn in the center to resemble a camera shutter when closed.

His vision completely changed as the whole room changed from a solid background to one made of numbers. He widened his eyes in surprise as he could not believe what he saw. It was not at all what he expected.

The world he knew was gone and replaced by it was one made up exclusively of numbers. The fact that this was at the lowest level made him wonder just what awaited him once he unlocked its highest form.

He quickly steadied his thoughts as he looked around for a clue, anything that could help them beat the test. It was then that he noticed it.

The floor for some reason shared some qualities with a board. A puzzle board that he was somewhat familiar with. It was one of the antique puzzles that humanity had played once upon a time.

"It's a board…" He muttered to himself, loud enough for Elena and Reyes to catch it as they moved to his side. "What did you say?"

Just as Nathan was about to explain things, he heard the mechanical voiceover in his head. [Host vitality has dropped to zero. Commencing fail-safe measures to regain it. Forceful shutdown of Active skill.]

***Ba-dump***

Nathan felt his heart tighten suddenly. He spat out blood raising alarm from those still conscious. Reyes forgot about the situation as he ran over to Nathan's side, grabbing a hold of him before he fell forward.

"Nate, what's wrong?... What's going on?" Reyes was beyond worried. Elena had also gone to Nathan's side as well, holding him up by the right side while Reyes held him by the left.

"Forget about me for now. It's a game board." Nathan struggled to say as blood dripped from his lips. "You should stop talking," Elena said, feeling a bit flustered.

"No. Listen… To… Me. It's a game board. Pick the tiles that are arranged in a way that when counted, they fall under an even number. Count them from left to right or right to left but do not count from top to bottom…"

***Cough***

Nathan could feel his brain shutting down as he coughed up some more blood. Yet he chose not to give in, he had to pass across the information he had risked his life to learn. He couldn't give up halfway through. That was his resolution.