"Can you stop doing that? It's irritating," I snapped, my patience wearing thin as Sandra kept on whistling. Her annoying noise was getting on my nerves, and I couldn't concentrate.

"Come on, don't be so grumpy," she uttered with a laugh, completely unfazed by my irritation. I ignored her and focused on my phone instead.

Right now, I had 1,245,000 digital points. The tasks this week had been relatively easy, and I'd managed to rack up a decent amount of coins. While I was scanning the system's features, my phone beeped again. I checked the notification and found an additional 100,000 points deposited into my account.

This must be the payment for completing the first round of the challenge. Now, we were moving on to Phase 2. The challenge had five phases in total, and it wasn't just about rowing a boat. We had to tackle a variety of physical and mental activities. The regatta was the main event, but other tasks were thrown in along the way, and I had no idea what lay ahead.

My phone beeped again, signaling a five-minute countdown before we had to head to our assigned site.

Here we go again.

As the countdown ended, our tent number was revealed: C17. I immediately took off, running around the site, searching for the number. When I arrived, chaos greeted me.

"I like the color white."

"No, darling, it suits me better, so give it to me."

"I'll have pink then."

"No, that's my favorite color."

My ears were assaulted by the cacophony of voices arguing over trivial things.

This team had no future.

"Stop pushing me, my gosh, you're ruining my—"

"You stop pushing me!"

"Ahhh, there are too many ants!"

"Hey, slow down a bit, won't you? I'm getting tired of walking."

Instead of slowing down, I stopped in my tracks and looked at them sternly. "Then you go ahead," I said, crossing my arms. She rolled her eyes but didn’t budge. I then averted my gaze and continued walking.

We were at the entrance of a forest, each wearing different kinds of suits. That was what they were fighting about earlier. They didn't care about the practicality of their outfits, as long as they were in their favorite colors. Now, here we were, at the edge of the wilderness, and they looked like they were going to the beach with their shorts, skirts, and above-the-knee dresses.

How great.

Meanwhile, I was dressed appropriately for the forest. I wore dark, durable cargo pants for comfort and protection. A lightweight, long-sleeved jacket with multiple pockets was ideal for storing small items. Sturdy, broken-in hiking boots with good ankle support were crucial, along with accessories such as a wide-brimmed hat for sun protection, lightweight gloves, and a versatile bandana. I also carried a sword on my back.

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Earlier, the facilitators had asked us to pick any equipment we wanted, but it had to be only one item. There were no food and drinks allowed, as stated by the system. So I had to maintain my energy for a while since this would be a tiring walk.

This was quite tough, and I had no idea where we were supposed to go. I was just walking, and they were following me. There must be traps here, so I had to be careful.

"This is so tiring. Do you even know where we should go?"

"Yeah, I'm tired too."

"Me too."

"Me three."

"Look how many bite marks I have, and that's because of you!"

I squinted my eyes at them before looking at them.

"First of all, I'm trying to find a way to get us out of here. Second, I'm also tired of walking. We are all tired. And lastly, those bite marks aren’t my fault. If you had considered and thought beforehand that those shorts wouldn’t help you in the wild, and those sleeveless shirts you are wearing..." I said in a flat tone before raising my eyes at them.

They went quiet, looking away.

"I do not care about what you say. You better get us out of here, or else I will make your family business go down," the girl who kept throwing tantrums said.

I gave her a smug look while controlling my temper.

"Look, it’s so hot in here, so we better find that freaking ocean," she added, wiping her face with a piece of paper.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, ignoring whatever she said.

"Stop changing the topic, you prick."

"I said, where did you get it?" I asked once again, my voice firmer.

"At the lobby, why? Do you like it? Here, you go; it’s full of my sweat anyway," she answered before throwing the paper at me. I managed to catch it. It felt disgusting to hold it, but I still did. If my hunch was correct, then we might get out of here faster than expected.

"Your name, by the way," I asked, looking at the paper.

"Why, are you a big fan now? It's Clara. Don’t worry, I’ll still accept you as a fan," she answered, full of herself.

"Look what I found, Clara. A map that you thought was a normal piece of paper," I said, still looking at her smugly.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she leaned over to look at the paper in my hand.

Looking at the map, it looks like we are on the right track after all.

"Gather up, everyone, because we’re about to get out of here," I announced, holding up the map for them to see.

We managed to get out of the forest with the help of the map and reach the ocean where phase 3 occurs.

"Yeah, like it was because of me that we got out of there. If I didn't bring that paper with me, then we would be still stuck there," Clara uttered, and I felt like my ears were going to bleed from her irritating voice.

Phase two was over, so I wouldn’t be seeing her for a while.

I walked to a nearby bench. It had been a long walk, and I felt a bit thirsty. I checked my balance and saw that 200,000 points had been added to it. I decided to buy some water to regain my energy. I looked around for a nearby stall that sold water, and when I found one, I walked up to it.

"How much?" I asked, and the vendor replied, "250 points." I paid him and went to a nearby shed to drink it.

I still had a few minutes before the next phase. Since I wanted to do something, I went from stall to stall, looking for something promising.

"How much for this Eiffel Tower?" I asked, pointing at a small trinket.

"That would be 455 points," the man with the beard answered. I paid for it before gathering with the other students for phase 3.

I didn’t change my outfit. I’d stick with it until the end of the event. Plus, there were no extra clothes provided by the facilitators.

The countdown started, and the system revealed my next teammates. To my shock, there was a familiar name: Clara Frost.

I couldn't believe my bad luck. Clara was the last person I wanted to be stuck with again. Her constant complaining and superior attitude grated on my nerves. But there she was, listed as my teammate for the next phase. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my rising frustration.

"Looks like we're teammates again, fan girl," Clara said, sauntering over with a smug expression. "Try not to slow me down this time, honey, because my time is precious."

I clenched my jaw. "I'll do my best."

The rest of our team assembled when we got our tent number A43, and we were briefed on the next challenge. We had to do a scavenger hunt through a series of obstacles, both physical and mental, to reach the finish line in the forest once again, but this time, it was even harder. Loud banging sounds were heard from afar, making it difficult to concentrate. The first team to complete all the tasks would win the most points: 500,000 each. We had to win this.

Again, each of us got the chance to get something. We got the items: a whistle, a map, a compass, a flashlight, and a matchstick.

We distributed the items amongst ourselves. I was aiming for the matchstick, but Clara snatched it. The whistle might be useless because of the banging sound, but I’ll try to make it noisier than the speakers.

"We got this," we uttered before we started with a sprint through the dark forest. It was getting dark, so we had to get out of there as soon as possible, or there might be a chance that we couldn’t escape the place earlier. But our plan didn’t go according to it as Clara immediately tried to take the lead. She glanced back at me, her face a mix of annoyance and arrogance. I ignored her and focused on my pace, knowing that conserving energy was crucial.

We split apart to find the items tasked for each of us. I had to find a paddle for the boat. It was big, so I wouldn’t miss it. I looked around, trying to find the other things on my list, and when I did, it was right above a pine tree.

Now, I had to climb up the tree to get it. Grabbing the nearest branch, I hoisted myself up, carefully maneuvering around the prickly needles and rough bark. I climbed higher, balancing myself on thinner branches until I finally reached the paddle. I secured it, taking a moment to enjoy the elevated view before I heard someone screaming.

Even though the speakers were blaring, her voice pierced through.

How on earth did she get there?