14: The Game Starts NOW 3

Almost all of the students finally finished the easy level. Ryota, who seemed tired, sat on the ground. His partner, Eva, went beside him.

"Tired?" She asked him, then gave him a bottle of water.

"Nah...I just felt my feet get numb," he answered, obviously lying. Eva just smiled at him. She has been by his side for years and has become close to him. There's no way she could not read his expressions and feelings. He's like an open book to her.

But instead of saying more than that, she remained silent and just looked at the front. They just finished the last task at this level and were about to go to the average level. For some reason, Ryota felt pressured and exhausted.

He knew in himself that those questions were nerve-wracking. Unlike the questions given to the other students, Ryota's questions are much more difficult. It's as if someone is making it really hard for them.

Mr. Rayven, who was looking at the monitor, clicked his tongue when he saw that Ryota had a passing number of bloody cookies. His plan got flawed by letting Ryota pass this easy level. It was his intention to make it hard for Ryota.

Honestly, he put the difficult questions as early as the easy level so that he would be discouraged and might not be able to pass. Ryota had the second-highest score next to Fletcher the other day. He knew that if there was someone who had the potential to be the next one to pass, it would be Ryota.

It's like, 100 percent possible if he gave him the same questions as the others. So he makes it hard for him, and yet, Ryota manages to get three bloody cookies out of five.

That's enough to get to the next level.

Eva saw the terrible face that her friend had now. That is the moment she realized that everything seemed to be hard from now on. If Ryota was having a hard time in the easy round, then how much more for her in the average round?

She slowly walked toward them when they started the next level. Ryota was concerned for her. Eva likes mysteries and solving riddles just like him. But he didn't think she could answer everything perfectly, but he had no choice but to wish her good luck.

Several hours had already passed as the next round started. It's past noon, but the students are still going on with the challenge. So far, only 8 pairs out of 12 have passed the easy round. Apparently, those are Amelia and June, Chan and Dae Ming, Rio and Tobi, Ryota and Eva, Everett and Emma, Phill and Jin, Raia and Osamu, and lastly, Wrenn and Ivy.

While waiting for the next door to open, June walked toward Amelia. This is his time to go on the challenge. He looked at the pamphlet that Amelia was holding.

"What should I do?" he asked her, and a light flashed on the pamphlet.

"It looks like it is another quiz-like question," she said.

"So it’s not like the last time? I mean, about logic, "he concluded as he read the instruction written on it.

"I think so. Maybe some physical test or something like that? " Amelia said, unsure of what the next activity would be.

Then suddenly, a bright light blinded them and a loud voice could be heard in front of them.

"Mr. Gojo!" Amelia exclaimed as she saw him flash in front of them as if a hologram.

"Good day, everyone. Are you all enjoying this game?" Mr. Gojo said while looking at the camera. He is currently in the monitor room together with Mr. Rayven. Not just Amelia and June could see him as a hologram, but every participant in the average round.

" I would like to update you guys that this activity is pairing by pair," he said, then sat up straight. Every student remained silent while listening to his explanation.

"It means your partner will be a partner to the others. And since it is a quiz, it means it is a battle between two groups. And the one who can answer the question first will win one bloody cookie. If you achieve 5 bloody cookies, you and your partner will pass. But if not, "he paused for several seconds. 

"...it's time to use your sacrificial pieces," he added, which shocked everyone.

They didn’t expect that they would use the sacrificial piece this soon. Others remained looking at the hologram, such as June, who seemed challenged by it. 

While the others, just like Everett, just sat down on the ground and took a nap. He is not expecting anything from his partner. Emma was busy looking at her makeup, totally not listening to the hologram in front of her.

"Does everyone get it?" the hologram asked them. Emma looked at it, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh shut up. I’m busy doing my eyebrows. Can’t you see?" she asked.

"Of course, it won’t see you. It’s not a real person after all," Everett answered her, obviously mocking her.

"Oh, shut it. Why would I listen to that? All I have to do is answer the questions, right? That’s easy-peasy. " She answered him confidently before she put her makeup in her pocket.

Everett, who's taking a nap, slowly opens his eyes and looks at Emma, who is now walking towards the door in front. It seems that it's about time. But instead of watching what was happening in the game, he just closed his eyes again and a slight smile could be seen on his face.

Meanwhile, Emma, who is now inside the room, looked around and saw a big mirror in front of her. She immediately looked at it and saw her own reflection. As usual, she was obsessed again and checked her makeup.

Her eyes went round when the mirror suddenly changed its reflection and she saw a guy in front of her. Both of them are surprised to see each other. Emma clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes before she sat on the chair in front of her.

"So this is my opponent," June said to himself while looking at Emma, who was busy doing her nails.

"She doesn’t seem interested in this one, so neither do I. But why does it feel kind of unfair for her? " He said to himself. He thought Emma is nothing but a dumb woman who knows nothing aside from making love and doing her makeup.

Not until the game starts.

It took him several minutes before he noticed something was wrong with her. Something that surprised him.

"I think it’s time to take this seriously," he said to himself and looked at the notepad he was holding.

It’s already the third cookie for Emma, and yet he still has one cookie. Two more cookies and this game will end. He looked at the question and tried to answer it. There was a mathematical equation on it that seemed hard to understand because of the dimensions indicated on it. It is written on a rectangular table with numbers and variables on it.

They don’t have any scratch paper to solve it. They only need to answer it using their minds. While concentrating on solving it in his mind, June can’t stop himself from regretting their decision. He knows that Amelia is better than him in terms of mathematical computation, and yet it seems like he’s just unlucky.

He slowly looked at Emma as he heard the beeping sound from her side. It seems like she already answered the questions. Then, after a second, the lights turned red, which means she got it right. He could see the smirk on her face.

"I thought you were a smart guy, June. But it seems like you're not, "she said, then looked at her nails as if it was not a big deal.

He answered her, "I can't believe someone like you can answer that kind of question in just a limited time."

"Does it really look impossible for you?" she answered him while smiling.

"Yeah, you don't look like someone with a brain," he said. Emma's smile immediately disappeared. She felt insulted, but for June, he was just stating his honest thoughts.

"Are you underestimating me?" she asked him while gritting her teeth. June slightly smiled at her.

"A little bit," he said, honestly. That made Emma irritated and annoyed even more.

"Then you'll regret underestimating someone like me," she said with confidence and looked at her next piece.

Meanwhile, Everett, who is now outside the room where Emma is, slowly opened his eyes and looked at the ground. He felt sorry for whoever was her opponent. It might be a fact that she won't care even if they fail, but he knows that Emma is not just a woman who likes to flirt. He knew that there was something that Emma wouldn't tell anyone. Even her friends.

He smiled, expecting them to survive this round.