Kai did not have any idea about the strength of a Contestant above 4th floor.

All he could do was to make an educated guess based on his experience and the Stat, Perception.

His team members had told him during his Initiation mission that the higher the danger, the more susceptible his Perception would become to it. So, following that logic, the moment he had entered the house, his Perception should have been screaming bloody murder.

But Sonia had added more to it. It's also a double-edged sword, she had told him. The higher the gap between you and the other Contestant, the higher will be the chances for Perception to fail. If your attacker has an overwhelming advantage over you in Perception, he can easily trick you too.

If it was only this, then Kai wouldn't have named Red a monster.

The thing was, Selene was within him. Her Perception was even higher than him. It was her second highest Stat. Yet, even she had failed to notice a Contestant's presence. Then didn't that mean…

Kai licked his lips, sweat drenching his back, chest, and ass alike.

He looked at Red, who had stopped after just taking a step out of the kitchen. He was a muscular, green-eyed and red-haired adult, seemingly in his late twenties. He was wearing a loose white t-shirt over airy blue shorts.

For a moment, Red just stood there at door, carrying a tray.

Then Kai trembled, waves of emotions bombarding him like never before. His Perception had indeed failed… However, the Advance Emotions Manipulation was still working fine as if it didn’t care about the target’s power level at all.

So, yes. Kai trembled, sensing the exact same emotions oozing out of Red as those oozing out from himself. Moreover, Red’s green eyes were terrifyingly planted on… Petyr.

Suddenly, something clicked in Kai’s mind, his pupils widening beyond imagination.

"What happened?" Kurt demanded. "Bring the tea or have you prepared it for the air?"

Red slowly, taking one small step after another, approached them and placed the tray on the table.

There were only two teacups on it.

"Didn't you look for how many guests there are?" Kurt said gruffly. "Well, it doesn't matter. Serve them first. I will have mine later."

Red did as he was told.

He placed both teacups in front of them, but his eyes never left Petyr's face.

"You two drink," Kurt said, standing up. "Let me bring the map. Maybe it will be of some help to you." The old man left the room, walking with brisk steps.

There was an odd silence in the room, with Red standing beside the table, looking down at Petyr.

Kai’s heart was thumping wildly, thinking of the conclusion he had just come to. He too looked at Petyr, hoping the Book’s Character would stand true to his name, coming to the same conclusion as him. Inside him, Selene shuddered like a leaf, sending tremors after tremors, as goosebumps rose over his skin.

Then it happened.

Red suddenly fell to his knees, his head pressing down on the floor.

"Contestant Red Sun greets His Noble Presence," Red whispered, not daring to lift his head. His back was drenched with sweat even more than Kai’s.

Kai’s thoughts screamed in joy as he confirmed his doubts.

I was right! He thought, calming down his breathing. Petyr doesn't have Stats. So, like I couldn't sense Red's presence, Red must not have sensed Petyr's too. That's why he brought two cups of tea. Only when he saw Petyr did he realize that there is one more Contestant. A Contestant whose Perception is so high, that even his Perception got tricked.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The situation was so laughable, and yet equally terrifying, that Kai did not know what to do.

One wrong step, one wrong word, and Red would annihilate them to hide his shame. Kai stared at Petyr, who was calm despite the strange turn of events. Don't fuck it up, Petyr, he prayed within.

Petyr turned out to be calmer than Kai had thought him to be. He sipped his tea, looking down at Red. For a few seconds, he said nothing, and Kai noticed Red's ears becoming red, and his knuckles going white.

"Which floor?" Petyr asked, putting the cup on the table.

Red sighed, standing back up. "9th floor, Sun and Moon Organization, my lord," he said, then trembled, hastily adding more to his words. "It's a small organization. You must have not heard of it."

"Guess my floor," Petyr said, smiling.

Kai and Red both shivered, seeing that smile. It had an authority behind it, a sense of unmatched power lingering around at the corner of his mouth.

"I… I dare not do such blasphemy, my lord," Red said, his breathing going awry. "I dare not."

"Do it," Petyr said, chuckling. "I command it. Take your best shot."

Red bowed. "For you to fool my Perception," he said meekly, "you must be from the 12th floor."

Petyr laughed. Red staggered back, his face becoming pale as he saw Petyr shaking his head. "Good guess," Petyr said. "But not correct."

And that only meant one thing. Petyr was from a floor higher than the 12th. The sheer ridiculousness of the lie made Kai tremble. How far could they stretch this lie? The question struck his mind like a hammer.

Red took an audible gulp. "I wonder what brought you to this place, my lord," he said, trying to smile. "Is he… your disciple?"

Red looked at Kai for the first time as if he wasn't even worth a matter of discussion.

Petyr nodded. "This little one has quite a Worth," he said, slyly.

Red raised his eyebrows, and realization dawned on him. "Oh! So, my lord is preparing him for the Tournament of Worth," he said, nodding to himself. "Well, now I know who will be the winner. But… I don't know if throwing him against three 4th-floor Contestants is a good idea."

Three?! Kai's eyes widened. Where's this third one came from?

Red narrowed his eyes at Kai. "But that is good too," he said. "Only this kind of talent is worthy of being noticed by my lord."

"How long have you been here?" Petyr asked.

Red smiled wryly. "Well, we must do these things once in a while," he answered. "It's been a week this time."

"Haha!" Petyr laughed. "Ah, yes. I remember guarding Ash. That was quite a while ago."

Kai’s mouth almost twitched.

One the other hand, Red’s face lit up in awe, drowning his fear and horror under it. "Well, I wish I could help your disciple, my lord," he said. "But we know I can't. So here's something as my well-wishes to your disciple. I just hope you will remember this one's name."

Red took out a box after saying that, which seemed kind of like a cigarette case.

He opened it up for Kai to see. Some 20 red capsules were lined inside it, all gleaming with a low redness.

HP Capsules! Kai exclaimed, but he didn't dare let any emotion come to his face. The ones that I bought never glowed like this, either. Their quality must be extremely higher than the ones I have consumed.

Even then, there was a frown on Petyr's face, and that frown made Red shudder.

He hastily reached into his Inventory and took out another thing.

"I think this lucky guy must be looking for completing his Attribute Points Quota. Let me give him a helping hand," Red said, smiling, and placing a rock on the table. "I have only one left, I am afraid. I know it isn't much, but it works perfectly and meets the boy's needs."

A rock?! Kai thought, confusingly. He so wanted to touch and bring it to his eyes but refrained.

Petyr didn't humble himself. "A rock?" he asked, amused by its sight.

"Huh? My Lord, you didn't recognize it?" Red asked (-Kai's heart almost gave away-). "Oh, you must not have been too much to the Harry Potter World. This is no rock. It's a cake. A rock cake, made by Rubeus Hagrid himself."

Petyr smiled, and Kai had an inkling that he wouldn't ask for more things.

The lie was stretched thin, now that they had taken gifts or bribes from this monster. Logic told them to just fuck off from this place as soon as they could. Petyr nodded, and Kai put the HP Capsules in his MRB and the Rock Cake in his pocket.

"Red Sun from Sun and Moon," Red repeated, seeing the two things disappearing. "May I have the honor of knowing your Code Name, my lord?"

Petyr looked thoughtful. "Red Sun, I will remember you," he said, after a few seconds. "You have the honor of being in the presence of… Purple Mist."

"Purple Mist… Purple Mist…" Red muttered and was about to ask something again when Kurt entered the room, holding many documents and a large map.

"What are you doing?!" Kurt rebuked Red. "Go prepare another tea for me."

Red scampered off, not before giving a courteous bow to Petyr, ignoring Kai.

The old man passed the documents and the map to Petyr. "Here, take this," he said. "Just do nothing stupid."

Petyr gave an assuring smile. "Good sir, trust us," he said, leaning over for a whisper. "We have never failed. I think we must go then. The sooner we start, the better."

From the corner of his eyes, Kai saw Red's head peeking out from the kitchen, smiling sheepishly.

9th floor… Kai gulped, looking away.

All he wished now was to never ever cross paths with this man again.