Doubts

Love the life you live.

Life is either

  a daring adventure

  or nothing at all.

I had a feeling the first level was to reduce numbers but goodness I didn't expect people to had died that much. The score board on top of us showed out of over five hundred girls almost a hundred didn't make it.

I groaned when I saw a lake and a row of boats lined up at the beach, I had a feeling what this trial was about.

"Welcome! To the second trial of the level one, we are depressed and sorrowful for the dead—" he sure didn't sound it. "—and the lost but pray that their safe and that their soul rest in peace, their sacrifice will never be forgotten, a moment of silence of you please." The crowd went quiet.

"Contestants, as you can see, the lake is a pretty think isn't it." He chuckled, "well don't be fooled by it. It is filled with things unknown

"There are 100 boats in total and we have 430 contestants left so you all have to find a way on the boat to get to the other side while at the same time battling things unknown on your way, there's no limit to how many of you on a single boat, good luck!"

The horn sounded and we all ran for a chance on the boat.

My short legs made it just in time to catch the last space on a single boat, the girls already there gave me the stink but I ignored them in favour of getting ready for the water, because the lake which had been still before was now getting very very unstable.

More girls tried to squeeze their selfs into the boat even some tried to drag out others already in the both, going as far as to physically attack each other.

My heart beat thudded, desperation, everyone was desperate to survive, no one wanted to be left behind.

The moment we reached the middle of the lake the water grew unsteady to the extent that we had to hold on to the both to keep from falling.

Then someone screamed and all hell broke loose.

"There's something in the lake." Someone shouted as the terror piercing scream continued.

The girl behind me tried to look into the lake.

I screamed in horror as something flew out of the lake and bit her head off before falling back into the water.

I quickly put my knife and chain in place incase one tried to eat me. The moment one flew up from the water beside me, without any hesitation I cut it down with my knife.

It went on and on, slicing, diving, killing, so focused on not getting eating I didn't even notice when the boat stopped moving, only the screams of the crowd above us alerted me.

I was shaking as I came down from the boat, we were all shaking as we walked on to the beach.

Some girls were openly crying as they dusted of slime, no one wanted to risk going to the water to wash off.

"You know, it's not real." I looked from where I'm crouched at the weird Asian girl.

"What?"

"How they are dying, the monsters eating them, they're not all real."

I tried not to look at her like she was stupid, but from the smile on her face she noticed.

"The girls don't really die, they appear back home like they appeared here with no memory of what they experienced here, the ones who gets left behind are the ones who go home scorned by their family and relations that they didn't try hard enough."

I didn't believe her one bit, she must have saw my disbelieve so shr gave me another assuring smile.

"So you really think the quintessence, the Mother Laeta, the pure and all knowing will sacrifice the life of such young women because they couldn't get to the finish level?"

Not when she put it that way;

"I know you didn't want to come, you love the life you have, you are content, so why don't you just give up on the next game and go back to your life without having to endure the remaining month it takes to complete the level."

I kept my face blank this time, she was trying to convince me to give up, why did she care if I reached the next level, what did she really want with me, everyone was so focussed on survhving, and here was the devil's advocate trying to convince me dying meant living.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "If so, then why haven't you tried dying, why didn't you also give up?"

She flushed. "I come from a reputable family, it'll be a disgrace if I die, my family will be shamed."

"Oh." I nodded like I just understood something. "So because I'm an orphan, there's no one waiting for me at home to tell me they are disappointed in me or say I've shamed their reputation it's okay for me to give up and die.

"What's your name again?"

"It's Naiki." She answered with a glare.

"Well listen here Naiki, I might be anything but I'm certainly not a coward, I don't know who you are or why you've set your sights on me, but back the fuck off. I don't appreciate low achievers bringing growers down with them."

Her eyes widened at the indirect insult, I basically called her a scum of the earth looking for victims to turn to scum.

"You're going to regret saying that." 

I scoffed and turned my head away from her, basically dismissing her.

A psychopath's threatened me, her threat couldn't be more less to his.

If people really didn't die, then why was everyone scared of being summoned, why did the leaders lie about it.

I layed my head on the sand and looked up at the sky. I snorted, sky...more like spectators.

I wondered what Kemi and Johnson was doing, they were probably staring down at me or probably fighting like oldies.