Chapter 13: Crown game
2.8k words
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After the test was finished, Hansung who is currently having a blissful time drinking his instant coffee was approached by Neon dude and other 3 people.
Looking at his superior who is still drinking his shi- instant coffee, Neon dude decides to speak first.
"Director, the regulars test procedure has ended. As you've instructed, we've acted as if we were a regular and passed hints to everyone." Said Neon dude.
"Good job! All of you can rest now." Said Hansung yu as he makes another coffee.
That's right. Neon dude and his other colleagues are simply ordered by Hansung yu to act as regulars and pass hints to the regulars.
Neon dude always had some question why they had to do this so he decided that now is the time to ask his question.
"May I ask a question?" Asked Neon dude.
"You already asked one." Said Hansung with a little grin.
Hearing his superior's joke, Neon dude doesn't know how to answer...
"Umm..." Is the only response he can give as he can't think of any.
Seeing one of his assistants not knowing how to answer to his little joke, Hansung thought that it's a little funny.
"Pfft, alright. You may ask one more." Said Hansung with a snicker as he stirred his cup. Looks like his subordinate is a little awkward to people superior to him.
"Um there's just something I don't quite understand...was there really a need to give these hints to the regulars? The clues were laid out afterall." Asked Neon dude.
No matter how he thinks about it, he still thinks that giving them more clues will make the test too easy for them. Although he wonders why there's much more regulars who did not pass although they already gave them hints though...
"Ah, that's right."
"?"
Hearing his superior's words, Neon dude just got confused.
Seeing his subordinate's face full of confusion, Hansung yu decided to explain.
"A hint...do you think believe that the hint you gave was actually a 'hint' for everyone?" Asked Hansung as he looked at Neon's eyes.
"..." Neon just stayed quiet for Hansung to continue his explanation.
"In this test, a man who is incredibly smart but does not trust anyone almost failed because he heard the hints."
"Although he approached the hint, he immediately threw it away because he does not trust anyone...Do you know how he passed the test?"
At his question, Neon said the obvious answer.
"He figured out the clues?"
Hearing him, Hansung Snickered.
"Nope. Not at all. He passed because he has an ally who easily figured out the clues because of his difference of perspective." Answered Hansung yu. He doesn't clearly know that boy's perspective of life but he can easily guess some of his views just by his aura and his words.
He has been living for hundreds of years so it's inevitable for him to meet hundreds of kinds of people with different perspective of life. And those encounters made him able to discern an individual's way of life to some degree.
"I see..." After thinking about it, Neon dude has finally started to understand what the director is saying.
Hansung yu then continued.
"The one who trusts in his god was saved by his faith."
"Even after hearing the hint, one who was too lazy to even think about it was saved by his sloth."
"Those who paid attention to your words and did not hesitate, managed to find all the clues using the hints as a basis and passed."
He then looks at the coffee in his cup as he continued.
"If I were to say that the hint you gave everyone was a cup of tea, would that tea be a medicine tea to everyone?"
"Wouldn't it be a medicine to some and poison to some at the same time?"
"And even if it was a medicine tea, if they did not have the courage to drink it, would they have been cured?"
"In the end, to the regulars that were tested, determining wether the hints was a medicine or a poison was irrelevant because there is only one way for them to be sure and that is..."
He then sipped his instant coffee with his eyes closed before saying...
"Drinking the tea."
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All the regulars who passed the test are now currently in a huge waiting room with its walls painted yellow. The walls also has concrete bench attached to them for the regulars to sit on.
Our main trio is also currently sitting on it as they talk and observe the other regulars who passed.
The last test has high death and fail rate so the people who passed the test either had luck on their side or they have someone who has the brains to figure out the clues.
"Wow~ many people seems to have become past tense~" said Kai as he observes the regulars. The instant coffee seems to have kicked in as he doesn't feel too sleepy anymore.
"Yeah, although the people who passed is much more than I thought. Probably around 20 plus" said Khun as he also observed all the surviving regulars. After he did that, he looked at his two team mates as he said...
"I'm going to the bathroom" Said Khun before he walks towards one of the test assistant alien looking thing as he asked for the comfort room.
Kai just nodded as he plays rock paper scissors with Rak.
""Rock, paper, scissors!""
"Rock!" "Paper!"
"Eh!? I thought you said rock, you liar red turtle!" Yelled Rak as he glared at Kai. Kai's actual pick was scissors.
"You dum dum. Who would actually say what they are going to pick lol." Kai said as he flicked Rak's forehead. It's their punishment to whoever loses the game.
"Grr. Alright! One more time!!" Said Rak wanting to take revenge on the red turtle.
""Rock, paper, scissors!""
"Paper!-"
Kai was actually about to stretch his hand into a 'paper' shape before Rak poked his stretched hand with his massive index finger.
"Huh?? You idiot, nail is not allowed!" Said Kai as he dodges Rak's flick. Rak's hand shape means that it's a nail or something which is something that is not allowed since he clearly said that the only options is rock, paper, and scissors.
"Grahahaha you foolish turtle! This is not a nail attack!!" He said as he raised his index finger.
"This is..."
"A spear attack!!" He shouted as he pokes Kai many times with his 'spear attack' as Kai Runs away from him while dodging.
"You idiot of a gator! Why are you poking me!? Huh!?" Kai said as he dodged a poke to his forehead.
"Rahahaha a spear attack doesn't end with only one poke, red turtle!!" He said as he pokes and slashes his finger to Kai who also started to counter with slaps with his 'paper' shaped hand.
The other regulars just looked at them irritated because they are still a little tired mentally from the previous test.
Before they could continue, a guy in a violet jumpsuit approached them as they both stopped to know what's his deal. The guy has normal features. He has a cross cropped hair, some freckles on his face, and an average height.
"Yo~ your team looks like a fun one." He said as he extended his arm for a handshake.
"I'm a fellow regular, the name's ship leesoo, nice to meet ya." Said the violet jumpsuit guy as Kai and Rak looked at each other for a second.
Kai then observes him a little...
'Should I spit on his hand? Hmm he doesn't give off an aura of a worthless mob character...alright.' He then accepted his handshake as he introduced his self.
He would've spat on his hand if he feels that he's just some worthless character. Why? Because he is Yoru Kaiser. That's why.
By what standards would he deem someone as a worthless mob character? Only he would ever know.
"Yoru Kaiser. Call me Kai." He said before Rak also introduced his self.
"Raleader." He simply said as he sat on the bench.
"Raleader?" Asked Leesoo. His name is a bit weird...
"A true leader of all times..." Rak explained.
Hearing him, Leesoo paused for a second before he laughed a little as he spoke...
"...hahaha, your team is really fun huh, Kai." He said as he sat next to Kai.
"True that." Kai said as he just looked at the regulars.
"You are really amazing huh. You didn't even got affected by the shinsu push that came from a test administrator." He said to Kai as he also looked at the regulars with a little smile on his face.
"I was lucky, I guess..." Said Kai absentmindedly.
"Haha, if you say so...anyway, there's not much team remaining so this test is probably about to end...the level of difficulty will definitely rise from now on. But..."
"I will definitely pass the test and get all the way to the top of the tower as I promised my friend." He said with a smile on his face.
Although Kai doesn't care and doesn't know why he had to mention that to him who he only met seconds ago.
He then looked at Kai who is staring at the regulars with an absentminded face.
"What is your motivation for entering the tower by the way?" He asked Kai as Kai responded with a single word.
"Fun"
Hearing him, Leesoo thought about it a little before he nodded.
"Fun...I see. So you are entering this tower to make your life exciting or something?" Leesoo asked.
"Yup. For me, this thing called life is worthless if you don't live it as you want. I want a fun life so I entered this tower hoping that it could make me live that way." Kai said. He also smoothly covered the fact that he came here because he was 'kidnapped' by this tower.
As he said before, he will only reveal that he is an irregular once he is already famous so that he can watch the shock in their faces. At his current fame, people will only get shocked a little if he reveals it to them which is something that is not cool.
Hearing him, Leesoo was stunned a little. It's rare to actually see someone climbing the tower with this intention after all. Most people who climbed the tower wants to reach the top so that whatever wish they have can be granted.
However, the regular before him just wants to climb the tower to make his life 'fun'. And by fun, he knows that he obviously means the danger that the tower brings. As if fun could mean other things when it comes to this tower. There's no way that he climbed the tower just to play arcade or ride a ferris wheel or something.
The wars, the fights, the bloodshed, the power struggle,- all of those is what the regular infront of him probably seeks for his life. Something that he could never understand.
'Looks like I found a crazy one.' thought Leesoo as he stands up and stretched his arms.
"Alright, I should go now since the test is probably about to start. Nice talking to you, Kai and Rak." He said as he left after they both nod at him.
Khun then came back and sat beside Kai as they waited for a minute before Leroro entered the room with Yellow standing after him as he spoke.
"Did you all have a good rest, chosen regulars? I'm really happy to see that there's more of you here than I expected!" Leroro said with his signature smile.
He then continued.
"Actually, I came here to give you all a really good news." He said as the regulars hoped that the news is really beneficial to them.
"Good...news?" Asked Leesoo.
"Yes! Before I came here, I had a little talk with the director as we decided to conduct a bonus game!" He said as the regulars groaned from annoyance.
Leesoo spoke again as he told him what the regulars had in their mind.
"Excuse me, but hearing that the tests increased isn't exactly a good news for us" he said as the regulars nodded to his words.
"Don't say such things or you'll break us test administrator's hearts...anyways, a bonus test is different from normal tests."
"Attending a bonus game is entirely up to you. And you will not have disadvantages in the later tests just because you didn't join..."
"However, for the winner of this bonus game, they will be awarded maximum points for this every test on this floor- meaning..."
He then grinned a little.
"You will earn the right to go to the next floor"
!!!!
At this news, all the regulars is shocked and the trio isn't an exception. A chance to go up just by simply participating in a single test is just too huge of a reward. Who knows if they have to take more deadly tests just to go to the next floor.
"That's indeed amazing but...what is the bonus test?" Asked Khun. Who knows if this bonus test is much deadlier than a normal test.
"It's called the crown game. Details will be given after we move to the game arena." He said before he led them towards the arena that they will be playing the game on.
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Leroro led them to a huge arena with jail like rooms surrounding a large throne in the center with a crown on top of it.
All the teams each had a room which is where they are currently on as they looked at Leroro who is standing beside the throne.
He then spoke as he explained the rules of the test.
"Now that everyone's in their place, I will now explain the rules."
"In a word, crown game is about stealing the crown. Out of the teams here, you must fight and become the last team that is in possession of the crown."
"Though it may sound simple, the rules are a bit complicated."
"First is the game duration. Crown game is played over 5 rounds with each round lasting 10 minutes. In each round, the teams that may advance is limited to 5. And the individual's team who has the crown will advance to the next round."
"And in the next round, 5 teams including those who passed the previous round may advance to claim the crown again."
"After 5 round have passed like this, the last team to possess the crown will be the true winner of the game."
"As a note, those who wants to advance have to press the red buzzer installed by the exit for each room."
He said as the regulars looked at the red buzzer beside room's entrance.
"Take note that there's only one way to bypass the time limit. That is is you wear the crown and sat on the throne for 5 minutes. In the even that the possessor of the crown throne changes, regardless of the time, the round will end and the team sitting on the thrown is the winner."
"Next are the spatial rules. If there was a team that possessed the crown from the precious round, they will continue to possess the crown but a member of that team must remain seated with the crown."
"If that individual is completely disconnected from the throne or have lost possession of the crown, that team will be disqualified and will be removed from the game."
"And if another team manages to sit on the throne with the crown, the winner of that round is that team and the round will end."
At what he said, Khun can't help but spoke.
"What the...then even if you go out first and win then it's still a disadvantage?" Asked Khun.
"Correct! The winner of the previous round carries a risk to the next round!" He said before he grabs the crown.
"But just because there's too much risk and you keep delaying your chance- the game might just end without even a single opportunity to participate~"
'That is also true...although everyone will want to come out at the later stage since the number of participating teams per round is limited...'
Khun thought as Leroro continues with his explanation...
"You may complain that the rules are too complicated, but no matter what, in the end, the winner of this game is the team that is in the possession of the crown at the end of the game." He said as he wears the crown.
"Don't bother thinking too much. All you have to do is simply steal the crown."
He then puts back the crown at the throne.
"Alright! You can read a detailed version attached under the buzzer is it's still not clear to you-"
"Now then..."
He then clapped one time as the sound echoed through the large arena...
"Let the game begin!!!"
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