CHAPTER 38

OAR48, OID76, and OSZ61 went north and checked every building they passed. Luckily, they found a few black objects and put them inside a plastic bag. OID76 swung it left and right to lure the cat, their main suspect, but it didn't reappear.

"We only have one hour remaining. Do you guys think we will be able to find it?" OSZ61 asked while looking at the floating hologram of the timer. She felt a little hopeless as they didn't have an idea where the thief hid the stolen objects. What's more, they could be looking in the wrong direction.

"We might not. But it will be fine. As long as we worked hard and did our best, it's fine, right?" OAR48 stated with his cute, gentle smile.

"Well, we also have plan B so that it will be alright," OID76 added.

The group went inside a slanted building and scanned the first floor. Noticing nothing noteworthy, they climbed a vine on the wall next to a hole and used that to pull themselves up to the next floor.

They checked each room only to be greeted with familiar broken furniture that accumulated piles of dust brought by time.

Seeing that no black object was in the room he had entered, OID76 went to the next one and stilled on the door frame. He tilted his head to the side and questioned whether what he saw was real. 'Why was he sleeping?' he thought to himself.

Atop the filthy bed was Hirayon, who was still sleeping deeply. Unaware of the happenings around him.

Astonished at the situation, OID76 called the other two.

"What's wrong?" OAR48 asked when OID76 went inside the room he was in.

"I found someone. It's the first-place winner last game."

"Oh really? The one who can already use Elemental Ability? Where is he now?" OAR48 felt excited. He wanted to meet Hirayon and ask how he used his abilities. In the recording, Hirayon looked way younger than him, which is why he was surprised that he could already use basic and elemental ones.

OID76 stared at his friend, who looked eager. "Yeah, he's sleeping."

"He's sleeping?" OAR48 repeated with evident confusion. He did not expect it, considering that Hirayon looked like a hardworking child from the previous game.

Hearing the commotion from the next room, OSZ61 approached the two. "Who's sleeping?" She asked.

"The one who won the last game, he's in the room at the end of this hall," OID76 repeated, walking outside the room and leading the two where Hirayon was.

They all entered the room and stared dumbfoundedly at Hirayon.

"Why is he sleeping?" OSZ61 asked in a whisper.

Looking at Hirayon intently, OAR48 answered, "Maybe he's tired."

OSZ61 raised a brow. The game was relatively easy compared to The Blooms, so he couldn't think of anything that could tire a strong child. "Of what?"

"I don't know. Maybe he was tired because of the experiments and forgot about the game. Should we wake him up? There's only less than an hour remaining." OAR48 asked the two.

Seeing that what OAR48 said was a plausible reason, OSZ61 nitpicked, "Why would his trainer experiment on him a day before the game? That's stupid."

"And cruel," OID76 added.

"Pfft..."

Savio looked to his left and glared at Ryper, who was covering his mouth, about to laugh out loud. They are both watching a huge hologram that shows the three children with Hirayon still sleeping on the bed. Tedie thought something interesting might happen, making the video large for the audience. Because of that, everyone could hear what the kids were talking about. Usually, they can only watch the live videos of the children without audio, but once Tedie decided to view it on a larger screen, they could also hear their voices.

"Aww, it looks like our first titled oddity was tired. Please let him rest next time, trainer," Tedie commented and looked at Savio with a sympathetic smile, hiding his beastly smirk. The audience who voted for Hirayon was making a fuss with the host, and thus, he put the blame on the trainer to avoid the angry audience.

Unperturbed, Savio just looked at the host and raised a brow to the audience, who looked in his direction. He doesn't care about what the audience thinks of him. His only concern was Hirayon's benefactor, who warned him earlier to do his job correctly.

Unlike other trainers, Savio wasn't the type to act like a puppy to his trainees' benefactors to receive more rewards and benefits. However, he is wary of Aurelius because he is one of the few influential familia members who could end his life in a snap. That's why, while still watching Hirayon in the game, Savio had started to adjust the experiments' schedule. Although it was still unclear why Hirayon felt tired, there's a huge chance it was a side effect of the experiment.

"Should we?" OAR48 asked the other two children.

"Wouldn't it be better for us if he forgot about the game?" OID76 pointed out.

OAR48 nodded understandingly. "Well, it does, but this is a luck-based competition. And I want to be his friend," he said, smiling excitedly. "Did you watch his previous game?" he asked. He could still remember how a small child fought courageously and survived a fall from a towering tree.

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"I did, what about it?" OID76 asked. He did not watch it entirely but saw the fight and how Hirayon utilized his abilities. It was true that Hirayon was amazing, but to him, it wasn't enough to receive his awe.

"He doesn't want to fight with other children. So I'm sure he won't harm us." OAR48 believed that Hirayon was one of those children who wouldn't resort to violence with the other players.

"Fine, but it's your fault if he attacked us," OSZ61 agreed.

OAR48 nodded and approached Hirayon. He carefully poked his arm, trying to wake up the child. When OSZ61 saw that, she rolled her eyes. "Shake him harder. Do you think he'll wake up with that?"

Listening to the little girl, OAR48 tapped Hirayon's arms more strongly. It was enough to wake up Hirayon, who squinted first due to the bright light and looked at the group with groggy eyes.

Hirayon confusedly stared at OAR48. He noticed the other two children not far from the bed and realized he was still in the game.

"Why?" He muttered and supported his body with his elbow to get up. His eyes were asking the nearest kid to him what he needed.

OAR48 looked at Hirayon with perplexed eyes. It wasn't the greeting he expected. To him, it looked like he disturbed the child, who planned to sleep throughout the game.

"Hi, I'm OAR48. I just woke you up because there's less than an hour in the game, and we thought you wouldn't be able to find a black object if we left you be," he explained.

Hirayon gave OAR48 a doubtful look. He never expected that a child would care for other players. After all, he was challenged to a fight the last time he met another participant.

"Oh. Thanks for your concern, but I'm alright. I planned on waking up 30 minutes before the game ends."

OAR48 stared at Hirayon with wide eyes. He didn't know what to do next. "Oh, is that so? Then... sorry?"

Hirayon slightly shook his head. "It's alright," he stated and sat properly on the bed.

Awkward silence enveloped the room, and the group watched Hirayon with apprehension. OAR48 felt uncomfortable, while Hirayon, who also felt the mood, ignored the group and shook out the dust in his clothes.

OAR48 was thinking about what to say when his eyes drifted to the two other children who were meekly watching Hirayon.

"Ah. By the way, this is OSZ61," OAR48 spoke, pointing to the little girl. "Beside her is OID76," he stated, introducing the two.

Hirayon nodded, acknowledging them. "I'm OWS59."

"We know. You were amazing last game. How were you able to use your ability?" OSZ61 asked with her usual sassy tone.

Hirayon looked at her, "I'm not sure how I should answer your question."

OSZ61 shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms. Her eyes looked back at Hirayon but quickly went to the dusty floor. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt intimidated by Hirayon. "I just want to know if you did something that triggered your powers to appear," she said, glancing at Hirayon and returning to stare at the floor.

"Hmm, could be my environment," Hiraon answered without much thought.

"Oh, do you mean where you live? Which clan are you from? I am from the Air clan," OAR48 spoke, happy that the awkward silence was gone.

"Water."

"Ohh! Is it true that there was an underwater city?" OSZ61 asked, which gained Hirayon's attention. He remembered how the underwater territory looked and how we would gaze out the library's window and see different marine animals.

"Yes. It looks so majestic. The whole territory is always enveloped with the quiet melody of the sea."

"Wow!" OSZ61 exclaimed, back to her usual sassy character. "I want to go there someday. All we had in the clan was sand. Everywhere I look, it's sand and so freaking hot. I want to live in a cooler place," she complained.

"It is always cold in our clan. You wouldn't want it. You'll freeze to death," OID76 said, reminiscing how he would shake in the freezing weather. Because of that, he needed to wear at least four layers of clothes or a thick fur coat every day, even in his sleep.

"You're from Ice clan?" OAR48 asked. They didn't have time to tell each other about themselves, so it was also his first hearing about it.

OID76 nodded. "Yes, and we live in igloos and ice crystals. It's annoying because it's cold every single day. We could've lived in a normal environment, but the elders don't allow it because they say it makes our body not used to ice."

'That's why his skin is like icey white,' OSZ61 thought.

Hirayon recalled something he had read in a book. "Based on research, an oddity needs to live in an environment that fits their elements. It will help your body develop faster and thus make you use your ability better. It has the same principle that our environment makes us who we are," he explained.

"So does that mean I should live in the Ice Clan if I want to have Ice Element?" OSZ61 asked. Even though OID76 already said it was freezing in their clan, she still wanted to go there and have the ability to help her ease the heat on her clan.

"It will still depend on your body's compatibility with the element. Some who are compatible with such element could use it in the future, but most of the time, it will only affect your abilities," Hirayon clarified.

OSZ61 frowned. "It's too complicated, I don't get it."

"Just for an example, my element is water. If I live in the Ice Clan, I might gain an ability that will allow me to make water cold. My environment affected my ability but not enough to let me use a different element like ice entirely. But if I have an affinity with ice, it could be the next element I could wield."

OAR48's face lightened up when he understood Hirayon's explanation. "Oh! That's why! You see, I have an older cousin who trained in the Storm Clan because he wanted to gain the ability to make tornadoes."

Hirayon nodded, "Based on the book I've read, Air Element has become gentler in time. It seemed like your brother wanted to have a more powerful ability. That's why he went to the Storm Clan, as he will have a higher chance of getting a destructive ability."

"Wow! You know so much! You're so smart. Hey, let's be friends!" OSZ61 said happily and clasped her hands, creating a clap sound. She was no longer feeling intimidated and instead looked at Hirayon with admiration.

Surprised, Hirayon raised a brow. "Why?" he asked, his face contorting with the idea.

"Why not?" OSZ61 fired back and tilted her head. She even looked at OAR48 and OID76 as if asking if her question was weird.

Hirayon looked away. He didn't want to answer but decided to. "More than a hundred children are in the Torneo, and we have to compete constantly. There will be a time when we will have no choice but to fight each other."

"Well, that is correct. But it's boring to live like a puppet. We should enjoy a social life even though we are inside the facility. Don't you want friends?" She asked. Growing up, she was always surrounded by people. Whether it be servants, family, or friends, that's also why she finds staying alone in the facility cumbersome.

"That's right, we don't know what might happen to us in the future, but it's better to have a friend we can talk to. It lessens the loneliness," OAR48 added, giving Hirayon a sad smile. He had been in the facility longer than the three and had to spend it alone most of the time. That is why, even though it's strange, he was happy to be part of the Torneo because he finally got to talk to other children.

Looking at the three, Hirayon fell into a deep thought. He didn't know what to say because he never had friends. Even in the Water Territory, he only studied and trained his body, so he never had the chance to meet the other kids. If there is one that he considers a friend, that would be Neki because he felt a connection with the Auveast. Which he couldn't feel with the group.

According to his understanding, being friends means knowing each other as a good companion who will stay and protect one another. And now, they are in a difficult situation where they could also be each other's enemies. He finds it weird to be friends with someone who could try to kill him in the next game.

'It just doesn't make sense.'

R E H I L I Y A