Judgement day
"Everyone,good?" Sryia asked
"Yeah" The girls chorused in affirmation.
"Great, let's see what y'all can do" Sryia smirked before leaving the room.
"Ouu,what's coming is going to be exciting" Mirai grinned.
"I think it's gonna be a test" Sofia whispered."I hope we pass" She tightened her knuckles.
Sryia didn't return for about thirty minutes ,and when she did return,it was to tell them what was already obvious:
"This is gonna be a test" She said.
"Duh! We know" Jessica said.
"Oh,well another thing y'all should know is that this test is gonna determine whether you're in or out"
"What?" The girls gasped.
"Yes,your position in this gang is gonna be determined by your result" Sryia repeated ominously.
"Uhm,can I talk to you?" Sofia walked closer to her and whispered.
"Sure" Sryia agreed as they went to a corner of the room.
"You didn't tell me about this?"
"Yes,I know"
"Why" Sofia asked."I'm the leader. Why shouldn't I know?"
"Because if I told you,it wouldn't be fair to the others"
"I don't understand" Sofia shook her head confusedly.
"You're also part of the test,Sofia. This means if you fail, you're leaving the gang"
"Who authorized you?" Sofia asked. For some reason,she felt rage building up in her.
"No one" Sryia breathed."But we have to be rational. Last time,no one died,but that might not be the case the next time. I ,at least, want the odds to increase in our favor"
"So you're gonna separate the weak from the strong?"
"Yes but this isn't only about combat skills or battle knowledge. Factors like teamwork and swift decision making were also taken into account when I designed this test"
"But—"
"Just trust me,Sofia" Sryia interrupted with a pleading look.
"Fine" Sofia deeply sighed before returning to the rest.
"Anything wrong?" Mirai asked.
"Nope, everything's perfect" Sofia replied.
"Ok,ladies. The judgement day is finally upon us" Sryia announced.
"Stop saying it like that" Mirai groaned."You're making me nervous"
"Well,you should be" Sryia grinned."Right this way" She lead them to another room,but this one was far larger than any other room in the building.
"Woah,it looks like a obstacle course" Eleanor marvelled as she glanced around the room. In front of them was a low hurdle then a high wall. After the wall came a small net which the participants were supposed to crawl under. However,no obstacle came after that. The room was painted in the familiar colours of yellow and black. In the right corner,there was a small camera monitoring the girls.
"So who's gonna go first?" Sryia spoke.
"Aren't you going to explain what this is?" Sofia asked.
"Nope,a vigilante requires the ability to deduce situations and clues in seconds and acting on them" Sryia replied."Now,who's gonna go first?" Sryia asked again.
Mirai looked around and saw no one wanted to go first. Infact,some were shaking in their boots.
"I'm gonna go first" Mirai spoke,trying to conceal her hesitation.
"You sure?" Sofia asked.
"Yeah,come on. This looks like fun" Mirai grinned.
"I wouldn't call it that" Phoebe thought."This looks terrifying. I can't believe I'm gonna do this. I wasn't even good at sports or any of these stuffs in school" She thought, tightening her knuckles.
"Alright,Mirai. After you go through the first three obstacles,just remain there and wait for further instructions"
"Wakarimashita"
"What?" Sryia frowned."You cursing me in your native language or what?"
"No" Mirai chuckled."It means I understand in Japanese"
"Oh okay then" Sryia replied."Three,two,one,Go!"
"Come on Mirai,you can do this" The crowd cheered.
Mirai started on a high note as she easily went over the low bar. However,that moment was short-lived.
"Fucking hell" She groaned as she started scaling the wall. She used ropes which hung from the ceiling to aid herself,but it didn't make it considerably easier. After finally scaling the wall,she went under the net in seconds.
"Done" Mirai said as she reached the end.
"Great work,Mirai" Sryia said."Three minutes and forty seconds"
"Yayy" Mirai squealed, clapping excitedly.
"But you aren't done" Sryia said."It's time for part two"
"What's part two?" Mirai asked.
Sryia tossed her a paint gun and pointed to where the other girls stood."Contrary to what y'all believed,this is a team event"
"So?" Jessica asked.
"Patience,Jessica. When y'all are done,the second part will be revealed to you" Sryia said."I feel like a game master. Choose amongst yourselves and decide who the next player is going to be" She grinned.
"I have a lot of dietary requirements" Seventh said as the dawns converged in the meeting room."Beef is the only protein I eat ,but I'll eat chicken if the temperature outside is below 33 degrees"
"Why are you so impossible to deal with?" Threos groaned."What does the daily temperature have to do with the protein you consume?"
"It does,if you must know. Experts say you should carefully align your diet with the time of day" Seventh retorted.
"I don't think they intended for you to take it that deep" Fifth spoke.
"Okay, seventh, please report any other dietary requirements to the cooking staff. They'd be happy to serve you" Herman said.
"Uhm,when can we leave this place? No offence,but staying with you guys is shit" Aevulis said.
"The feeling's mutual" The rest chorused.
"We'll all go our separate ways after we've taken care of the issue with that Sofia girl"
"Ugh!" They all groaned.
The next day
Cesar woke up fairly early to trade shares. He wanted to finish all his work before logging into rheurym.
"Hey,you ready?" He texted Rita.
"Yeah" Rita replied as she logged into rheurym.
"Hope this works" Cesar muttered as he did the same.
"So where is this quest you speak of?" Rita asked as he appeared in front of her.
"Good morning to you too,Rita" Cesar smiled.
"Whatever. Answer the question" Rita said with a faint smile.
"Way up there" Cesar pointed to the huge television at the center.
"I don't think we're qualified for that" Rita said, voicing her concern.
"Oh ,come on. We're the only ones here for now. Let's take advantage of that" Cesar said.
"You are really annoying,you know that?"