"I wish I could cheat too, but sadly I don't know how to use flight magic," Rody said, not even glancing at Tommy as he ran forward with the others.

"Wait for me!" Tommy, the chubby boy, hurried after them on his skateboard as a huge boulder almost crushed him, boasting, "Who needs a skateboard? I have an extra one for sale, starting at one gold coin each. Rody, I'll give you a 20% discount!"

"You blockhead, let me tell you what real smart people do!" Thief Terry suddenly kicked Tommy down, stole his skateboard, and quickly slid away.

"Help..." Tommy, seeing the boulder about to crush him, threw his other skateboard in a desperate attempt to slow it down. But the boulder, too massive, just rolled over the skateboard with a crunching sound. Terrified, Tommy nearly wet himself and scrambled up, following close behind Rody.

"Tommy, do you know what I'm going to say? I have skateboards for sale too, but the starting price is five gold coins!" The group was sweating bullets upon hearing this, realizing that not only Tommy had the potential of a swindler, but also Rody, the most cunning of them all.

"Dear classmate Rody, five gold coins is way too expensive, you know a skateboard only costs one silver coin..." Tommy tried to bargain.

"I know." Rody smiled, looking at the panting Tommy. "Now, the price of a skateboard is ten gold coins. Since we're classmates, I'll give you a 20% discount. How about that? Aren't you grateful to me?" Everyone almost fell over upon hearing this, never expecting Rody to be so ruthless.

"Oh my god..." Seeing the boulder coming faster, Tommy, reaching his limit, yelled, "I'll buy it!"

"Why don't you bargain? If you did, I was ready to sell it to you for twenty gold coins at half price," Rody chuckled. "By the way, Tommy, if you can solve a riddle, I'll give it to you for free. Listen, there's a cage with chickens and rabbits. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"

"Let me die! I don't want to live anymore!" Tommy was almost spitting blood.

Everyone broke into a cold sweat, glad they hadn't fallen into Rody's hands, otherwise they might have been worse off than Tommy.

"Rody, I'll buy it for ten gold coins, okay? Please, just sell me the skateboard, I can't hold on much longer!" Tommy was scared, preferring to spend ten gold coins rather than being crushed under the boulder.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Alright, since you're begging, I can't just stand by and watch." Rody called out, "Terry, bring the skateboard here."

"Here it is, Rody. About the two gold coins commission you mentioned..." Thief Terry returned, and everyone realized what was going on. Rody didn't actually have a skateboard; it was a spur-of-the-moment plan, but not only did he trick Tommy, but it seemed that Thief Terry was his errand boy.

"Two gold coins commission too little? Terry, name a fair price!" Rody's smile was friendly, but it sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"No, two gold coins is too much. I insist on reducing it to one gold coin!" Terry was quick-witted.

"Since you insist, I'll reluctantly agree." Rody nodded, seemingly troubled.

After taking ten gold coins from Tommy, Rody tossed one to Terry, signaling him to hand over the skateboard to Tommy. Terry carefully handed over the skateboard and quickly ran away. Tommy, on the skateboard, desperately chased after him, likely ready to break Terry's bones. He didn't dare to confront Rody but was thoroughly fed up with this thieving accomplice.

Behind them, the boulder rolled thunderously, but Leo and Benson felt that Rody behind them was much more terrifying than the boulder. Being crushed by the boulder might leave some remains, but offending Rody, supposedly a novice magic apprentice here to study alchemy, might result in being devoured whole. One might even thank him and help count the money.

"What a despicable guy!" Only the violent girl, Ophelia, was unafraid and scoffed sarcastically.

"Despicable is my nickname," Rody replied nonchalantly with a smile.

"You're shameless," Ophelia fumed.

"Shameless is my real name," Rody laughed heartily, not just him, but even Jill, who had been running silently, couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

After running for a while, they came across a corner with an uphill staircase.

Tommy and Terry, one with a black eye, rested there, seemingly having reached some agreement. They sat together, unlike the brutal fight everyone expected, leisurely watching others sweat it out, sipping water.

"Don't worry, the exit is up there. I just saw those guys run up," Tommy reassured everyone. "The boulder only turns at this corner and can't climb, so we're safe. Jill, Sheila, do you want some water? You're beautiful ladies, so it's free, but it's different for stinky men. If Benson and Leo want some, it's at least two silver coins each."

Just then, a loud explosion came from above, followed by screams.

"Are there traps up there?" Thief Terry spilled his water in fright, unable to stop shaking.

"Sunny, what did you see?" Elizabeth asked Sonia, the girl with silver eyes. Sonia's eyes flashed, and she nodded, "There are several self-destructing puppets patrolling above. Aaron and the others triggered three and went up. There are bloodstains on the stairs; someone got hurt."

"Self-destructing puppets? Then we shouldn't go up yet. Let's try to clear them out one by one, preferably luring them down," Terry suggested.

"Of course, we should lure them. I think you, the thief, are the best candidate!" Tommy snorted.

"Wait, five more self-destructing puppets have been added, making seventeen now," Sonia, with unmatched distant vision, said, making Rody envious. Although he could detect things far away with his mental power, it wasn't as clear as seeing with eyes and was mentally draining.

"I guess that's the case. The self-destructing puppets increase over time," Sheila deduced. "Every three minutes, five more appear. It's been just over ten minutes, so if there were originally five, that makes sense. We can't just wait here. We need to find a way to break through immediately."

"If so, I'll lure them away. You guys pass quickly!" Ophelia bravely stepped forward, almost moving everyone to tears.

"Good, very good!" Rody suddenly clapped and laughed, praising her.

"You're coming with me to lure the self-destructing puppets! Do you want to see a girl face the explosion alone?" To everyone's surprise, Ophelia pointed at Rody, demanding he join her in this deadly task.

"Good, very good!" Rody continued to clap and laugh, still full of praise, leaving everyone bewildered.