In that instant, everything and everyone began to move so slow.I didn’t know what was going on but one thing was for sure, if I didn’t do something I would receive a vicious blow from Jake.In a few tenths of a second, I stepped out of the way as quickly as possible, I wasn’t prepared for this so I was clumsy and caught his ankle with my foot as I moved.When I was finally out of his reach safely, time went back to normal and everything began moving in real-time again.Jake tripped and fell over, knocking a few chairs to the floor as he did so, attracting the attention of everyone present in the room.He shook his head quickly as if trying to process what just happened.I walked up to him and offered him my hand, “you tripped and fell over, let me help you up.”He took my hand and I pulled him up close to me, and spoke into his ear. “If you ever try that again, I’ll kick your head in,” I said to him.I leaned back, brushed his shoulders with a wide smile on my face, and made my way t
Everyone began shuffling out of the room in a uniform manner.I got up from where I sat and was at the back of the queue. However, I was held back and grabbed on the shoulder by an official, stopping me in my tracks.I turned to face him and asked him what was happening, and he gave me a signal to wait behind till everyone else had left.‘What could this be about? A special reward for me coming out in first place? Or something else…,’ I thought to myself.Either way, I sat back down on my chair and soon the room was empty. No one seemed to notice my departure from the ten candidates, and so I didn’t get any disturbances.Now that they had all left, I spoke. “Care to tell me why I’m the only one left in the room?” I asked.“Mr Damon,” the official began. “Congratulations on coming out in first place in the tournament, if you would please follow me, we have someone who wants to speak to you,” he said.“It’s Anon again isn’t it?” I asked.“As perceptive as ever I see, he would like to co
Dear Damon,I'm writing this letter to let you know that I've decided to return to my hometown. I know it may come as a surprise, but I cannot face you even though you said it was fine. I don't see things going back to normal between us.My illness is starting to hit me harder, and I feel it's best for me to be back home during this time. I apologize for not telling you before leaving, but I didn't know how to face you and explain my situation.I want to thank you for your kindness and understanding throughout the competition. You've been a good friend, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. I hope that we can remain in contact and, if I make it through this difficult time, perhaps we can meet again in the future.Once again, I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly, but I believe it's the right decision for me. I wish you success and happiness in your life, and I'll always cherish the memories we made during the competition.Take care,Eleanor‘Her illness…it’s going to be ju
‘Unauthorized access? I shouldn’t pry any further, I’m not prepared to face the consequences or take the risk. If it’s against something that the keepers of the code have set in place, I guess I can’t access it. Still I’m intrigued, I keep discovering that the system has more and more secrets to hide, it remains a mystery to me,’ I thought to myself.I got up from bed, my eyes were clear as day now. “In any case I’ll just have to wait to see what the surprise quest is, I’ve fulfilled the thresholds, now I just have to wait and see what it is,” I said to myself.I couldn’t sleep anymore, so I decided to pack my bags as was instructed by the officials.There wasn’t much to pack anyway, as most of our clothing and essentials were provided to us by the company, and I felt it would be wrong to take what didn’t belong to me.So I only packed a few things, a toothbrush, toiletries and other minor items. Thankfully there was already a bag in the room, where I could store my belongings.As I p
It was at times like this that my skills would come in the most handy.It was an entirely unprecedented situation, but thankfully, I had my emotions and expressions in check.‘Unbreakable and poker face really are useful,’ I thought to myself.They both walked up to the stage and shook the officials hand.“I congratulate you both for making it here, I advise that you don’t take this opportunity for granted, as a lot of people would kill to have this position,” he said.They both nodded in unison.I stared at them both and realized that they hadn’t changed a bit.However I was kind of shocked, this was my first time seeing them both since I got into Columbia, and supposedly they were also students from there.It was surprising, but I didn’t think too much about it.I already had plans to apologize to both of them anyway, this just made everything easier for me.“Now I expect all of you to treat them with the utmost amount of respect and foster good camaraderie between each other. Do no
She and I engaged in a very long conversation as we moved on the road.I had to explain to her that I’d been very busy, between work, studies, basketball, gym and now this, that I’d barely had time for myself.She explains how that still doesn’t give me the right not to respond to my emails and I apologized for it.I asked her if she was present at the entrance ceremony for new students, because I didn’t see her there.She said she wasn’t in attendance, that she had some errands to run for her family, and that she had to miss it because of that.That explained why I didn’t see her during the event.Finally, I asked her about Noelle and how they knew each other.She told me that they met in some challenge for an internship position at one of the Slater family companies, and asked why.‘An internship program for another company, that probably means that the Slaters are selecting candidates from all the best schools and making them occupy spots in their companies from the very beginning
This wasn’t the first time that something like this had happened.I was reminded of the quest I received back when I was in my dorm, the one where I had to survive for twenty four hours.But this time, I didn’t receive a system notice showing the quest details prior.The only indication I had about something like this happening was the surprise quest that I was informed that I would receive after surviving the third challenge.This time it was different however.‘I’m not exactly sure of what’s going on, but one thing is for sure, we’re all here to compete for something, so I should stay alert,’ I thought to myself.As we waited, our attention was suddenly diverted when we heard a loud voice beam behind us.It was a man with a horn, and he screamed at the top of his voice to gather everyone’s attention toward him.Welcome everyone, to the Battle of the Players!‘Battle of the players? I need more information about this whole situation, system,’ I thought, expecting to receive a panel f
"These games you mentioned," I asked Marcus, "what more can you tell me about them? What exactly are we expected to do?"Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully before responding. "The games can take many forms, Damon. Sometimes they're tests of combat prowess, other times they involve solving puzzles or navigating treacherous environments. And occasionally, they require diplomacy or cunning to outwit your opponents.""One thing to keep in mind," Marcus added, "is that each game or challenge can have its own unique set of rules. For instance, in this particular game, we're not allowed to use our systems."I looked at him in disbelief. "Wait, what? Why would they give us these abilities and then take them away?"‘I already noticed that my system was disabled, just like the other time this happened,’ I thought to myself.“You’ve seen something like this before right? A random quest where you’re just pulled out of your normal world for no reason, and you can’t use your system till you comple