“Next one incoming!” a rough voice reverberated across the cave. It belonged to a bald man wearing a brown tracksuit, and in his arms, a black-haired woman rested. At his words, everyone’s senses immediately heightened as they shifted their attention to the holographic screen behind them, noting the timer.
5 seconds.
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Time Limit:
19 minutes 12 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:
5 seconds.
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Lin glanced at the timer, making a mental note before looking down at the blocks around him, doing a quick count. He waited for the timer to hit two seconds before suddenly speaking up.
“Oi, big guy! Bring her to me,” his voice cut through the silence, causing everyone to glance at him in confusion. The bald man, who had been called out, looked even more bewildered as he met Lin’s gaze before glancing at the woman in his arms.
Ding.
The sound of bells echoed through the cave, interrupting the man’s thoughts. Silence followed, his face turning grim.
As he had done multiple times throughout the trial, Lin had timed his words perfectly. By speaking only when the time was almost up, he took advantage of the urgency building in everyone’s minds. This way, they wouldn’t have time to ask questions—only to act.
“Two!” another voice shouted, and everyone immediately started moving, skipping a block and jumping onto the second block closer to the goal.
“A-are you sure?” the bald man called out, glancing at Lin, who simply nodded. The man then dashed toward Lin, who, instead of stepping forward toward the goal, turned to his side, skipping a block and stepping onto the second block to his left.
As usual, the first to notice the strange action was the golden-haired boy, just a few blocks away from Lin. His expression showed confusion as though trying to dissect Lin’s thoughts. They had already established how long it would take to reach the goal, yet Lin had essentially chosen to abandon the round, moving sideways instead. This meant he’d still need to cover the same number of blocks to reach the goal on the other side after this round.
“Careful—she’s a bit heavy,” the bald man said, arriving in front of Lin. He then gently passed the woman into Lin's arms before dashing away toward his safe block just ahead.
At that moment, if Lin had actually tried, he could’ve still reached one of the safe blocks that would bring him closer to the goal. However, he remained where he was, glancing down at the woman in his arms.
She’s very good-looking.
He raised a curious brow, noticing that, upon closer inspection, she was strikingly beautiful. However, her defocused, eerily dark eyes gave her a very lifeless expression. Her lips moved slightly and erratically, producing words that were barely comprehensible or even audible.
Lin frowned as he observed her, meeting her gaze. Though she occasionally glanced at him, it didn’t seem as though she was processing anything around her.
Psychosis? Lin wondered but quickly dismissed the idea. Rather than showing fear or reacting to delusions, she seemed to exhibit a severe case of dissociation—a complete detachment from reality. Lin wasn’t a doctor or specialist, but coming from a very ‘unique’ family, he’d seen his fair share of mental disorders.
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The elite have too many mental issues.
“Um, shouldn’t you be moving forward?” the golden-haired student finally voiced his concerns, snapping Lin out of his thoughts. Lin turned, glanced at the boy, and, after a second of thought, simply muttered,
“No, it’s fine.”
The boy could only nod, sensing he wouldn’t be getting a straight answer about Lin’s actions. Ignoring the gazes directed at him, Lin took a quick glance at the timer.
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Time Limit:
18 minutes 49 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:
14 seconds.
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He continued to stand in silence. The tension in the cave was palpable, as though they were in a graveyard. A few of them were already worn down, feeling neither optimistic nor hopeless—just going with the flow.
As the timer approached 10 seconds, Lin suddenly began to move, catching everyone’s attention as yet another incomprehensible scene unfolded before them.
He turned to his side, still not facing toward the goal, as if intending to move sideways in the current round too. Stepping to the edge of his block, he suddenly bent down and began lowering the woman.
“W-wait, what’re you doing!?” the bald man shouted, his eyes widening in horror as he realized Lin’s intentions.
But Lin didn’t answer.
Gently, yet with cold precision, he lowered the woman onto the block next to him. Those around him instinctively covered their ears and looked away, bracing for the expected screams of agony.
However, none came.
Confusion, surprise, and amazement flashed across everyone’s faces as they took in the scene. Lin stood in his own block, while the woman lay peacefully on the next one. She wasn’t burning, nor was she screaming; she was simply lying there, still locked in her dissociated state but completely unharmed.
“And this?” the feminine-looking man muttered, unable to hide his confusion. Before anyone could respond, a chuckle rang out, drawing their attention to the golden-haired boy, who was watching the scene with an amazed smile plastered on his face. Completely oblivious to the tense mood, he spoke up in an enthusiastic tone.
“This… This is one of his safe blocks,” the golden-haired boy said, pointing toward the bald man. The bald man glanced down in confusion before quickly counting the blocks and nodding in agreement.
“Ah, I see,” the feminine-looking man murmured, glancing at the golden-haired boy. “So, any block you step on when the mini-timer ends becomes your new block,” he said, and the student nodded.
Their unexpectedly optimistic reactions left others confused, prompting one of them to finally speak up.
“And? What does that mean?” the blue haired man asked, his brow furrowed. He seemed to understand their explanation but couldn’t grasp the source of their strange optimism. If the discovery didn’t directly help them reach the goal, then why be optimistic?
Sensing his hesitation, the golden-haired boy turned to Lin, who gave him a simple nod, granting him permission to elaborate.
“It means the people at the front don’t need to carry us forever. Just one round is enough to make a block register as your own. As you see with the girl, she’s not getting burned anymore because she only moved two blocks away from the one she was on last time—which happens to be the block where the big guy was standing while holding her,” the golden-haired boy explained in one breath.
Faces flushed with newfound hope while amazement shone in their eyes.
Make sure you’re in your block when this mini-timer runs out:
## seconds.
When the woman had been carried by the bald man, the block they landed on became her new safe block, meaning the rules now applied relative to that specific block.
A strike for a stride.
That rule would not be validly applied if her original block is used to calculate her new safe blocks.
For example, if the bald man’s block was four blocks away from the woman’s initial one, carrying her to his block meant that her old block could no longer be used to calculate her strides.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CUho0VS.jpeg]
Instead, the new block redefines her actual safe blocks.
In future rounds, should the bell ring only once, then using her initial block to calculate her next safe block would mean that she needed to travel more than the agreed-upon strides.
image [https://i.imgur.com/PiPaQWr.jpeg]
Instead of moving one block per strike, it would mean the woman had actually moved a total of no less than two strides to arrive at her new safe block, no longer adhering to the stride-per-strike rule.
In conclusion, it meant that her old block could no longer be used to calculate her ‘strides.’
It’s a play of words.
Make sure you’re in your block when this mini-timer runs out:
## seconds.
The block you’re standing on when the mini timer hits zero is ‘your block’.
With this, we might be able to win…