CHAPTER 56

With his head held high, Hirayon entered the arena, radiating an unmatched presence brimming with determination. His every step drew the gaze of the children, and as the arena's bright lights illuminated his clear bluish-violet eyes and stoic visage, a palpable sense of intimidation rippled through the crowd of players.

Although nothing changed in his appearance, his commanding presence brought a fierce air that unconsciously compelled the other children to cast cautious looks his way. With his reappearance in the games alone, they felt threatened, but now they also felt discouraged, as the confidence in every step he took acted like an unspoken promise of his claim to the number one rank in the upcoming game.

"He looks cool," OAR48 remarked, observing Hirayon striding toward the middle of the arena near the stage. He felt delighted to see Hirayon safe and back. He had wanted to approach the child as soon as he saw him enter the entrance but stopped when he noticed a change in how Hirayon carried himself.

"Do you think he gained a new element?" OID76 asked beside OAR48. The only plausible reason he could think of that would explain Hirayon's change was confidence from a new, strong element.

"Possibly, he looked more handsome as well," OSZ61 expressed, earning a strange look from her two friends.

"What?" she asked with a raised brow. Her tone was sassy and sharp, as usual.

Not receiving an answer, she crossed her arms, "I mean, can't you see? He looked cute before, like a baby lion. Now, he looks like a normal adult lion," she pointed out.

"You like him now?" OID76 asked with a rather nonchalant expression.

"Nah, I like the cool bad-boy type—someone who would treat others coldly but extremely sweet and gentle to me," she said while slightly swaying her body, a hopeful smile decorating her cute face.

OAR48 looked at her with a playful smile, "Like OID76?" he teased and peeked at OID76's reaction. Though his stoic expression remained, OAR48 saw a quick surprise momentarily flash in his friend's eyes.

OAR48 was about to tease him when the little girl spoke, "Ehh, that's impossible. He's too annoying."

Somehow feeling irked, OID76 glared at the little girl, "If I'm annoying, that's because you're stubborn."

Surprised, OSZ61 glared back, "I am not. And you shouldn't call a lady stubborn. That's disrespectful," she remarked.

Not backing down, OID76 faced her, "It's not disrespectful. We almost got in trouble yesterday because you entered the house. We told you not to, but you still did."

"It's raining!" She reasoned and rolled her eyes.

"It's supposed to rain. We were in a rainforest," OID76 answered back.

Annoyed, the little girl gave OID76 a dead expression, "There's a house we can use as shelter so we won't get wet. It's natural to take shelter."

"The house was obviously a trap. The host said we should prepare to get wet. That's a hint."

"You shouldn't just think everything Tedie Bear says was a hint!"

"I don't. I read between-"

The lights turned off, cutting OID76's words and instilling surprise in everyone. Before they could understand what was happening, several lights lit up, directing their beams all around the room until they all stopped on the stage where a large figure stood.

Dressed in a velvety black tailored three-piece suit, a bright red bowtie, a tall magician's hat, and wielding a bright golden cane, the host tapped his right foot once. He then took a large step with his left foot, creating a space between his legs. The next second, he raised the golden cane with his two beastly paws and struck it strongly on the stage, making a loud, heavy thud followed by explosions of fountain-like fireworks around the circular stage.

"He's quite the performer," OSZ61 commented at the sight of their host, Bear Man. If they were watching an entertainment show, she would appreciate the showmanship, but now they were the entertainers themselves, subject to a survival game they all didn't want to participate in.

"He's flashy," OID76 added.

OAR48 glanced at the two and shook his head. He had a slight smile on his lips at the sight of his two friends. Though they constantly bickered with each other, a result of their opposing personalities, they would sometimes agree without even noticing. And once they realized it, they would argue again like a force of habit.

'They'll make a cute couple in the future,' he thought before focusing on the stage. The fountain fireworks fell beautifully like gold dust, glittering with the help of light while slowly dancing amid the pristine white stage, making the end of the presentation even flashier.

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The sight was undeniably beautiful and entertaining, eliciting claps and cheers from the audience. However, no matter how spectacular the presentation, the children's harsh experiences during the games were a stark reminder that everything was just a show meant to entertain the spectators.

Without waiting for the golden fireworks to dissipate, Tedie summoned his floating mic. Once the object was in front of him, he cleared his throat.

"Welcome, children! I hope everyone is ready for our next game. Are you all excited?" he asked, pausing as if expecting an answer. However, he immediately continued, knowing that no child would respond.

"Today's game is special. We will be testing everyone's collaboration ability. Do you know what that means?" he asked again before continuing.

"We will be having a team battle!" he declared, lengthening the last syllable and letting his voice echo inside the massive arena. As if on cue, the audience's cheers grew louder, accompanied by vigorous applause.

"So, without further ado, group yourselves into six. With forty-two players, that means there will be seven groups. I'll give you all five minutes to find your teammates."

A massive hologram appeared above Tedie, displaying a stopwatch-like timer with 5 minutes on it. "If the time runs out and some of you still don't have groups, you'll be automatically grouped by our system," he added.

"And the timer starts now!"

A loud buzzer sound rang, and the timer began counting down. The children sprang into action, walking towards those they knew, turning the arena into a mess.

Amidst the chaotic scene, Hirayon stood still. Instead of seeking out familiar faces, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the detailed figures of children transformed into Aura-like smoke. Looking beyond the players, the audience and surrounding bleachers appeared blurry, as his ability could no longer reach them in the distance.

A few days earlier, after waking up, Hirayon discovered a new ability—one of the powers his mother had sealed. It resembled the ability he gained after reaching the rank of Veteran Oddity but was stronger and more practical.

As Hirayon focused on sensing every Aura around him, he could see the Auras in the form of dense-colored smoke. After some experimentation, he realized three things. First, the denser and thicker the smoke, the more Aura there was. Second, oddities' Auras were akin to fingerprints, unique to each individual. Third, Auras from the environment emitted pure energy.

When Hirayon discovered a lump of Aura in one corner of his room near the benefactors' gifts, he found a wooden container filled with Class-C Water Stones. That's when he concluded that an environment's Aura was pure, and an Odditys' was unique to their identity. Once someone drained Aura from the environment's Aura-filled stones, the pure Aura was transformed into the oddities uniquely own.

Though it still required a lot of effort to feel everything without losing focus, he noticed a significant improvement in his ability. Unlike the first time when it seemed like ordinary smoke, he could now sense the actual energy of Auras without even looking.

Thanks to that, Hirayon knew when Savio and FORT685 were nearing his room, as he had already memorized their Auras. Though he had yet to learn the Auras of the children he wished to be grouped with, he could still categorize them by their color and innate elemental feeling.

Despite the chaotic mix of figured smokes, Hirayon still knew where OAR48's group was. Unsurprisingly, he felt them quickly nearing his location—a group with Air, Ice, and Sand Auras. He was about to face their direction when suddenly, he jolted and faced his left, where a sinister, malicious Aura was quickly approaching.

Hirayon's eyes widened upon witnessing a familiar dense smoke figure in ravenous black. He knew only one person who could potentially yield such Aura. Dismissing his ability, the child confirmed his guess as he met the pitch-black, dead eyes of Hirang.

Stopping in front of him, the child gave Hirayon an expressionless smile. "The last game was boring. Are you fully recovered now?"

Hirayon concealed his shock at the surprisingly eerie Aura Hirang emitted and nodded. "You won the last game?"

"Yeah. It was an easy one."

The children around the two glanced at his arrogant remark, ready to pick on the child. However, upon seeing the audacious speaker, they quickly turned their heads as if not wanting to get involved. They even distanced themselves from the duo, memories of the incidents from the last two games still haunting them. It was almost like a trauma that would never fade, no matter how many years passed.

Though some were intrigued by the idea of being grouped with the two strongest children in their batch, fear of potential enslavement by the stoic, cold duo held them back. Still, despite their harrowing experiences, a few brave ones chose to be with the formidable pair, trusting the connections they had built earlier.

"Please let us group with you two," OAR48 asked with a small, gentle smile. Unlike him, the two on his back had somewhat disagreeing expressions.

"I don't mind, how about you?" Hirang asked, turning to Hirayon.

"I would appreciate it," Hirayon answered. He preferred working with

people he knew over unfamiliar faces in the group.

"Then we will need another one. Should we ask someone?" OAR48 suggested.

"I don't see anyone good enough," Hirang savagely remarked, his dead eyes scanning the children.

"Let's just wait," Hirayon suggested, knowing their group would eventually be filled.

The group waited silently until the time was up, and Tedie reappeared on the stage.

"I see that many managed to find their own groups, but a few are still alone. So, we will use the system for fair grouping for the rest who don't have a group. But first, each group will line up in front of these numbers."

A few tiles in front of the stage slid open, and seven numbers about the children's height appeared. They were all green in color and consecutively glowed from the number 1 on the left up to the last number, 7.

"It doesn't matter which number it is, so just choose one."

The groups followed Tedie and lined up on their chosen numbers. As for Hirayon and the others, Hirang picked for them as he immediately went to number one. With no other choice, they all followed the white-haired child and lined up behind him.

Once the groups had been chosen, those who didn't have groups remained at the back. The next moment, the massive hologram showed the players' names for each group. Below it were the names of the children who failed to group, and when Tedie hit the ground with his cane, their names randomly traveled on the screen and were added to groups that had yet to have six members. When everything was finally done, Hirayon saw their last member's name - OFF134.

As Hirayon surveyed the crowd, his attention was captivated by a figure staring in their direction. A slightly taller child with dark brown hair and piercing auburn eyes stood out in the sea of faces. Although it was their first encounter, the mysterious child left a lasting impression on Hirayon.

And the said child was marching toward them, his eyes dead straight on Hirang, looking dark and deadly, not hiding the contempt and desperation.

"Ohh... I could smell revenge."

R E H I L I Y A