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The Genius Paradox
Chapter 25 - Childish Creativity

Chapter 25 - Childish Creativity

“So, what do you think?”

A momentary silence hung over the white space, conflict reflected in the varied expressions across everyone's faces as they absorbed Ren’s plan.

“It’s perfect,” someone spoke up, voicing what most were thinking, and the group collectively nodded. Their hesitation wasn’t due to the plan’s content but rather to how strangely simple it sounded—eerily reminiscent of the ease of Lin’s strategy in the previous trial. This made them wonder.

“It honestly sounds too good to be true. Isn’t this a bit too easy?” Sera said, voicing her concern as she looked back at the map in front of them. She reviewed the rules one more time, her expression saying what words didn’t.

It’s really too easy.

“It depends on the role you’ll be playing. I don’t think it’s as simple as it looks,” Nolan chimed in, trying to instill some caution, concerned they might be lowering their guard too soon. Truthfully, however, he was also feeling a bit underwhelmed.

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. So, who’ll be taking on the role of attacker?” Sera asked, glancing back at Ren, who paused to consider. Though most people would have relatively safe roles in the plan, the ‘attackers’ would be the ones facing real danger.

“I was thinking maybe Roben and Lin could handle it. If they don’t mind, of course,” Ren suggested, looking particularly at Lin, clearly unsure if he’d agree to the proposition. As Ren waited for an answer, another voice cut in.

“I can go instead if Lin’s too scared,” Kian suggested, not even sparing Lin a glance. Absorbing Kian’s words, they all turned to Lin, awaiting his response.

“I’ll do it,” he said casually, his nonchalant tone surprising the others. Despite the role he’d been assigned and the danger it entailed, Lin seemed completely at ease, as if the thought of facing that beast didn’t faze him at all.

“Same here,” Roben added, and everyone nodded, though it seemed they already assumed he’d be willing to do it regardless. As a soldier, he was clearly the best fit for the task, but sending him in alone would be too risky. Roben continued, glancing at Lin.

“I’m a bit worried, though—do you have any survival experience?” he asked, directing the question at Lin as the others also looked to him curiously.

“I’ll be fine,” Lin replied simply, without directly answering the question. Even so, Roben seemed somewhat reassured, nodding firmly. Having observed Lin in the previous trial, he already knew that Lin possessed impressive physical resilience and a relatively high tolerance for pain—both invaluable traits in any type of combat.

“Then I’ll leave the approach to you,” Ren interjected, looking at Lin, who responded with a brief nod. Ren then turned to the rest of the group and spoke up.

“That’s pretty much everything. Let’s pick some weapons and start sorting ourselves into the teams I mentioned.”

Everyone nodded, their focus immediately shifting to the weapons floating around them. Curious, they scattered, each approaching a weapon to try and find the one that suited them.

Echo Sight.

Lin looked over the weapons, noting the faint white aura emanating from each one, indicating that they were all Soulex objects. However, unlike the items they’d been creating earlier, these ones didn’t have any strings attached to them, indicating that they were “cut off” from their creator.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“So, what do you think?” a voice interrupted from his side.

Glancing over, Lin saw Ren standing next to him. He turned back, reaching out to grab a dagger that floated in front of him. The handle was pure white, and the blade gleamed with a sharp, silvery edge that flickered with each subtle movement, showcasing its sharpness.

“It’s not bad,” Lin muttered, still staring at the dagger in his hand, making it unclear whether he was talking to himself or answering Ren’s question.

However, even as his question hung in the air, Ren didn’t seem too bothered and spoke again.

“I’m still open to suggestions, you know,” he said, trying to draw Lin into the conversation, but Lin only shrugged.

He had high expectations for Ren’s abilities, and after hearing the plan, he wasn’t really disappointed—if anything, his curiosity was piqued, even if only a little.

Childish creativity.

The words floated through Lin’s mind as he reflected on Ren’s strategy. To put it bluntly, if he had given his twelve-year-old little sister a similar problem, the strategy Ren presented was something she might come up with. However, when it came to how quickly Ren had created the plan, his speed was impressive—spontaneous even.

His pattern recognition is almost as fast as mine, but his foresight…

“Are you familiar with ‘dead reckoning’?” Lin asked as the thought passed through his mind, sparking a confused expression from Ren. While unfamiliar with the term, Ren seemed to pick up a bad vibe from the mention of “dead.”

“Nope,” he answered honestly, waiting for an explanation. But Lin remained silent, as if Ren’s response had announced the end of the conversation.

Sighing, Ren sensed he wouldn’t be getting an answer anytime soon, so he quickly moved on.

“I hope you’ll explain that soon,” Ren said, walking toward one of the floating weapons. Everyone else continued searching for their weapon, and naturally, many gravitated toward the most common choice in the modern world—the gun. It seemed to have an easier learning curve, but in the world of Soulex, its usefulness was questionable.

After a few more minutes of preparation, the goddess finally returned, silencing everyone’s excitement as tension rose. Gathered around her, they wore anxious expressions, waiting for her instructions.

“Select the region you wish to start in,” she said, prompting them to glance at the blue screens floating in front of them, which displayed four options:

Select a region:

1. [Forest Region] [Soundless]

2. [Rocky Region] [Sightless]

3. [Swamp Region] [Smelless]

4. [Snowy Region] [Touchless]

Each of them selected their choices based on the plan they’d discussed together. Once their selections were made, the goddess continued,

“Which region should the Soul-vor beast start in?” she asked, and all eyes turned toward Ren, who quickly responded.

“Snowy Region,” he said.

The goddess nodded, giving a quick glance around and seeing that there was no need to confirm with the others. She waved her hand, and suddenly, the 75-minute timers reappeared above everyone’s heads. At the same time, an additional blue screen popped up in front of them, displaying a map of the four regions. The screen, however, was minimalistic—simply divided into four equal squares – each representing a single region – without any further details.

“A word of advice: please pay attention to your energy usage. This is a kind of waiting space, so your energy is unlimited here. I’m sure you’ve noticed you haven’t felt any fatigue, but that won’t be the case during the trial,” she said simply.

As her words sank in, worry spread across everyone’s face.

You’re mentioning this now?

Lin frowned, glancing at the goddess.

The issue wasn’t that they had expected to use their power infinitely without any pause, but the fact that she brought it up at the last minute. They hadn’t thought to discuss the limits of Soulex energy use, assuming it was already obvious that restrictions would apply.

Bringing that up right before entering the trial could easily stir unnecessary paranoia and doubt, eventually creating a reluctance to use Soulex in the name of ‘saving’ energy.

“Good luck,” the goddess said, snapping Lin from his thoughts. Her voice was quickly drowned by the sound of roaring wind as his vision abruptly changed.

[Snowy Region]