Jai and Darrion went past the South Gate and instantly met a beautiful sea of colorful flowers.
Jai widened his eyes and exclaimed loudly his fascination, “Dear God! This is the flower meadow?!”
He had never been to a flower field, so he was starstruck. Even in the Before, he could only watch it live in a weather report.
Darrion laughed, “I would be happy to hear you say “It’s amazing!” again... But we have a race to win, Jai, so save the excitement till later.”
Jai shook his head in disbelief. But the wide smile was still on his face as he and Darrion walked on the wide pathway in the middle of the flower field. ‘Oh this place will be a good background image. I wish I still had my phone with me.’
“Hey, the others are looking at their tokens. Let’s check ours.” Darrion said, waking Jai from his thoughts.
Jai glanced at the people on the meadows. There were already lots of people her
Bernie climbed on the stairs with his spear in hand. He had just finished his lunch and he was returning to his post at the big windmill. The big windmill was… Well… Big. It stood 60 feet tall with each of its propellers 10 feet long, facing the lake. The inside was quite spacious like a small house, with stairs leading to the top. Bernie was climbing these stairs to get to his post on the top of the windmill.Cool wind blew him quite hard when he reached the top. But it is the usual greeting every soldier stationed at the windmill get. It signified peace.“Bernie! You didn’t bring any food out here?” his partner said.“Your shift is over, Karl. Go down and eat your fill,” Bernie said.Karl whined playfully, “But I still wanna watch over the lady~”Bernie scoffed, “It’s a body of water, Karl. Go eat.”
They ran past the last windmill and kept on running. There were also participants running far in front of them and behind them. The lake was still visible but very far in their southeast, and the twinkle in its surface intrigued Jai to come to it and have a sip.He had really underestimated his physique and stamina. He admitted he was quite surprised when the first round was a race. Just a tiny bit surprised. But he tried not to think about it. He was confident he could do it because he usually jogs.However, morning jogs of a regular man and an athlete are already different. His morning jog might be a walk in the park for athletes… The point is, there’s a huge gap. That was why he thought the distance was very, very far. It surprised him by a lot. It was like running from Brooklyn to Manhattan but he had to swim to the Liberty and glide over to New Jersey first. He had never done all of that, but he was plain tired that he couldn’t help but exagger
Zraaasshh! Zraaaashh!! Ssshhh!! Ssshh!!“Hahaha!! Drench you tiny ants! Drench and DROWN!! HAHAHA!!” a man’s crackly voice satisfyingly laughed. It sounded extremely cheerful contrast to the things it had just spoken.“Someone’s eager,” another voice followed, it was heavier and calmer.“It’s not every day I get to drench unknown people without any consequences. Our minister rules!” the crackly and cheerful voice laughed again. And then he yelled “DIIIIIIE!!” with a vengeance.Major Darwen Kirly watched as his subordinate hardly patted the big dark blue tool on their right while looking downward with absolute satisfaction. The Major’s blue orbs then glanced at the runes he had placed on the tool. The runes were glowing light blue and circling the big jar, signing they were still going strong.“These runes will last until the race is over, right?” his subordinate asked.The Major tur
Jai leapt to the two guards standing by the post and immediately asked if they have something that can carry water.Both guards looked at him before the one with the spear said, “I guess we have iron mugs you can use.”Jai’s face lit up, “Yes, please!”“I’ll get it for you,” the spearman said before going to the post to retrieve it. It didn’t take long for the man to come back with an iron mug.Jai thanked them and took the mug with him to the wall to get some water. Once he did, he pulled the mug to his chest and examined his hands. His left hand was holding the log while his right hand was holding the mug. It would be difficult to run without spilling the water. He could always refill if he ran alongside the wall, but he’ll be a goner once he hit the main road. Somehow he thought over Darrion’s suggestion about using his mouth, but h
Jai instantly sat down and leaned back to the fountain on his back. His chest was moving very visibly, in addition to his shoulders shuddering a bit. Darrion sat in front of him and smiled somehow apologetically looking at him. Jai, however, had ignored everything around him and focused solely on his breathing.“You barely made it,” Darrion said.Jai only gave him a grin as he was too tired to respond. He felt something on his lap and he noticed that he was still holding the water container. He frowned, “My water! Damn!”“What’s wrong?” Darrion asked.Jai tapped the water container on his lap, “Why did I bring it with me? They won’t be able to count it.”Darrion gestured for him to calm down, “Hey relax. They noted as soon as you reached the gate, it’s up to us to keep the items or not.”Jai blinked, “Really?”Darrion grinned and nodded, “Yes. So calm down and just
"Let us move on to the second puzzle which is 'protected by a floating bar'. This one is easy. It only requires a bit of thinking, but I'm guessing everyone had figure out what this is. Can anyone answer it with me?" The MC joyfully said and gestured to the crowds.A high-pitched voice sounded from somewhere near Jai and Darrion."Your flower stage!" A little girl screamed.Laughter erupted from the crowds. The MC laughed as well as he floated near Jai and Darrion."That's a very good try, young lady. Can anyone give that girl a pat on the head on my behalf? " The MC said with a wide smile."Already did!" A middle-aged man shouted from the crowds with a laugh."Thank you, kind sir. Now, little girl, I will give you the correct answer. Would you like to know? " The MC asked with a smile.The little girl who had been swooped up by a middl
The screen was split into two sides. The left side showed the map of the kingdom while the right one was blank white.“Since we have wasted around 15 minutes explaining the answers and giving you time to rest, we will immediately start the second round as soon as my the instructions are done. So make sure you listen closely because I will not repeat it.”The participants braced themselves and focused.“The second round will be held inside the castle walls, right here. You will be given time to finish it until before sunset. That means the second the sun hits the horizon, the time is up. You will have to partner up in this round with another participant. So there will be fifty people against fifty people, and I’m sure you can already guess how many people will make it to the next round.“This round still revolves around puzzles,” that earned complaining noises in the background, but the MC continued, “But you have your partner
"Can you guys explain that?" Jai asked in confusion."So you know the second round is also a puzzle. What's with that?" Darrion crossed his hands.The left twin inched one step closer to both young men, "The minister approached us and give us each these."He took out two things that shined under the sunlight."Are those copper tokens?" Jai asked. He tried to touch it, but the bob haired twin pulled it back and immediately pocketed it."They are." Darrion trailed. And then he narrowed his eyes with a smile. "So I guess we have to get it from you.""This one is easy. And we will let you pass if you can finish our puzzle and come back to us." The bed haired twin said.Darrion nodded. "Sure. Though you have to know that my friend and I are good puzzle solver! So fire away!"Jai wanted to say something different, but this wasn't the tim