I should help out as much as possible. Lin glanced at the mini timer behind him, now at 4 seconds, and quickly added,
“There’s a five-second pause after the final ring before the burning starts, so don’t rush.”
His calm tone eased the tension, and the others nodded, taking his guidance without question. Most hadn’t noticed the long pause before the burning began since they had been too preoccupied with counting the number of rings, but a quick recollection of the first round confirmed his statement; there had been a few seconds of panic before the burning actually started.
3 seconds.
As the mini-timer hit its final moments, Lin moved closer to the edge of his block. Since everyone else was doing the same, preparing to dash out at any moment, his actions didn’t attract much attention. But from the corner of his eye, he could feel a certain person’s gaze—the golden-haired boy just two blocks away, watching him curiously.
Ding.
The first bell rang, and everyone’s senses immediately sharpened. At that moment, Lin slid his foot forward, stepping out of his block as his teeth clenched in preparation for the pain—yet none came.
“Wha–” the golden-haired boy muttered in surprise, but he quickly fell silent as Lin’s gaze met his, conveying a very clear message: stay quiet.
What he’d just seen was valuable information that could potentially benefit everyone, but likely out of respect for Lin’s contributions so far, the golden-haired student nodded obediently, trusting Lin’s judgment. As two more bells echoed and silence followed, someone shouted,
“T-three!”
Everyone lunged forward, stepping onto the third block that brought them closer to the goal. As they moved, Lin continued to stand, calmly glancing down and making a few more observations. As if counting the seconds in his head, he swiftly moved forward, leaping to his third block with quick steps just before the 5-second grace period ended.
Shhhh!
The sound of burning flesh reverberated just ahead of him, his eyes following the source. He spotted the bald man, once again running while carrying the dark-haired woman. He reached her third block, set her down, and quickly dashed back to his own block seconds later, panting as the white steam began to heal him.
This time, as soon as the bells stopped ringing, instead of saving himself like everyone else, he rushed to the dark-haired woman, moving her to safety before returning to his block. Everyone watched in silent awe, their respect for him growing with each round, solidifying him not only as the strongest but also as the most selfless among them.
Thankfully, because of his continued efforts, they didn’t have to hear the woman’s painful cries this round.
Interesting.
While some were impressed by the bald man’s chivalrous actions, Lin’s thoughts were elsewhere. He watched the scene not with admiration but with a calculating glint in his eyes, trying to make sense of the mechanism of the trial. After turning away from the scene, he glanced back at the timer once more.
----------------------------------------
Time Limit:
23 minutes 34 seconds
REACH THE GOAL!
"A stride for a strike, let the deaf burn except for those with heroes."
Make sure you’re in your block when this mini-timer runs out:
11 seconds.
----------------------------------------
Noticing everyone’s focus had turned toward the timer, Lin took another step forward, hoping no one was watching. Unfortunately for him, he seemed to have picked up on a starker.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Again? The boy’s face flashed in his thoughts as he tried to ignore him. This time, as he reached the edge of his block, he lifted his foot, extending it out of his block and into the next one—but without ‘stepping’ into it. This meant his foot hovered ‘outside’ the block, and since he hadn’t fully placed it down, no burning sensation reached him.
He could feel a few gazes starting to focus on him, though a quick scan from the corner of his eye revealed just how confused they were, meaning they likely wouldn’t think too deeply about his actions. Choosing to ignore them, he slowly lowered his foot, stepping outside.
Shhh!
“Kuhh,” he let out a muffled groan as a hot sensation shot through his entire body despite his foot being the only part that touched the illegal block. Quickly pulling his leg back, the familiar white steam suddenly surrounded him as if acknowledging his previous action as having left the block entirely.
So it only works on direct contact? Lin pondered, running a few mental simulations before letting out a thoughtful sigh. It wasn’t like they could fly their way to the other side, so the discovery itself wasn’t too significant. What really piqued his curiosity about this was when the bald man carried the dark-haired woman—she hadn’t burned because she made no direct contact with the blocks, even when the bald man was burning. Noticing Lin's strange behavior, the golden-haired boy finally spoke up.
"Did you find something?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low. But because everyone in the cave was already focused on Lin, they all turned their attention toward them, listening in on the conversation.
"You were watching. What do you think?" Lin replied casually, not even glancing in the boy’s direction as he continued studying the ground. This made the boy give an awkward cough before stammering,
"S-sorry," he said, trying not to offend him. Lin, however, didn’t seem bothered.
"It’s fine,” Lin said, giving him a side glance before continuing. “You came up with a plan just now. Isn’t that why you called out?"
The statement only made the boy more uncomfortable as he muttered,
"How did you..." He trailed off before shaking his head, reminded that they were fighting against time. In just a few words, Lin had deduced that the boy called out because he had a plan of sorts.
It wasn’t unnatural to make such a guess, but out of the many reasons the boy might have spoken, Lin seemed 100% certain it was for that specific reason. It was almost as if Lin could read his mind.
"Well, since it seems you can only burn when in direct contact with the blocks, maybe we could spread some clothes on the floor so we don’t touch it directly or something?” the boy suggested, building on Lin’s new discovery. A few listeners nearby seemed to consider this, but Lin dismissed it without a second’s hesitation.
"We’re already wearing shoes," he replied, saying nothing more.
Realizing the oversight, the boy’s face flushed with embarrassment, and he quickly nodded, looking away to hide his expression.
Some others had also considered that the boy’s plan might work, but after Lin’s swift retort, they, too, felt a pang of second-hand embarrassment and looked away, sparing the boy further discomfort.
Indirect contact, in the current context, seemed to be limited to human-to-human rather than object-to-surface. Being carried by someone qualified as indirect contact, but placing a small barrier like clothing between oneself and the ground didn’t seem significant enough to qualify.
Lin glanced at the golden-haired boy, feeling a small sense of pity. The boy seemed to have blurted out the first thing that came to mind without much thought. Beyond that, he wasn’t as socially alert as most of the others.
Of course, Lin’s definition of alertness was far from normal. To him, deducing that the boy had spoken because he had an idea wasn’t a special insight—it was simply logical.
While the golden-haired boy had been observing Lin closely, Lin had also been watching him. After Lin’s initial experiment, the boy seemed ready to speak up, but Lin had subtly shut him down, ensuring his findings didn’t reach the whole group just yet.
Typically, being shut down once would make anyone reluctant to speak out again, especially if the context remained the same. That’s why Lin quickly deduced that the boy’s second attempt wasn’t as insignificant as the first—mainly because:
1. He believed what he shared wouldn’t directly interfere with Lin’s findings.
* The fact that the boy started by asking if Lin had “found something” revealed his reluctance to share his thoughts directly, effectively giving Lin the power to dismiss or entertain his words. In this case, saying ‘No’ would’ve likely caused the boy to back away without sharing his thoughts.
2. He believed what he had to share was something Lin might’ve overlooked, which could potentially help them complete the trial much faster
Simply put: he had a plan.
Predictable… Lin once again pitied the golden-haired boy, gauging his chances of surviving a simple conversation in high society, where even a short greeting could reveal a wealth of valuable information. Of course, there was a reason why he had entertained the boy’s words.
“Next one is coming; everyone, make sure you’re ready!” the bald man called out, refocusing their attention on the screen as the mini timer hit zero again.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding…
The longest stride...