"I thought I'd be the first one out... But if it's you, that makes sense," Owen greeted Lu Li with a smile. He seed to be in good spirits.
Compared to the quiet Daniel, this tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed man seed far more inscrutable.
"What did you face in the passage? Your own inner conflict?"
"You could say that," Lu Li replied. He had been appointed and hadn't needed to undergo the trial.
"You were the first one out. Find any clues?"
"The final stage is behind that door."
Hearing this, Owen looked toward the next wooden door. It was secured by five locks of different colors. Two of them—black and green—were already unlocked.
"Looks like we'll have to wait for everyone else before we can proceed," Owen remarked, feeling unusually talkative. "I wonder how Doma's doing. Knowing her... she probably solved the problem with her fists."
...
"Twenty-seven."
"No..."
"Twenty-eight."
"Wrong."
"Twenty-nine."
"..."
"Thirty."
...
"You fool! How many trees do you have to chop down to buy a ship?!"
"Another eleven thousand, three hundred and forty."
Smack!
Old Frank swung again, but this ti, Frank caught his fist. He rose to his feet. Though still short in stature, he seed filled with an unshakeable resolve.
"I know it's a long road, but at least I'm always working toward my goal, not just sitting on my hands like you and Grandfather, who've never even seen the sea!"
...
Firmly gripping his father's hand, Frank slowly lowered it. His gaze was steady, burning with an unparalleled fire.
"I don't bla you... I just want you to know that I'm always working toward it. That's why I joined the Investigators—to take risks, earn more money, and buy a great ship for the Stan family. I'm doing this for our family's ideals, and for my dream!"
A flicker of emotion crossed old Frank's weathered face. His clenched fist slowly uncurled, and his spectral form began to dissolve.
"Son... I'll be waiting for that day."
Old Frank's figure vanished completely, leaving only the echo of his voice lingering in the passage.
Frank stood frozen, unsure if the encounter had been real or rely an illusion crafted by the trial. But after a few monts, he clenched his fists—still feeling the warmth of his father's hand—and walked toward the half-open exit.
...
"You want to use their power?!" a cold female voice exclaid, filled with astonishnt.
A smirk of vengeful satisfaction spread across Daniel's face.
"Isn't this what you wanted? For
to drown in hatred and lose myself..."
"But that's insane!"
"It's not insane, because I've realized it's possible. I can turn their own power against them..."
...
Lu Li and Owen turned their attention to the blue door as it opened, revealing a Frank who seed sohow changed.
"You look different," Owen greeted him. "I didn't expect you to be out this soon."
"You seem more cheerful, too," Frank replied with a smile. It was the sa radiant grin, yet different, as if he had matured from a boy into a man. "Mr. Lu Li, though, is exactly the sa."
"Are you waiting for your comrades?"
"Hardly... The next stage just won't start until all five of us are out," Owen said, turning away.
"Owen, you're as guarded as ever..."
"Don't pretend you know
so well."
...
"Fifty-seven."
"..."
"Fifty-eight."
"..."
"Fifty-nine."
"..."
"Six—"
"Wait!"
The exasperated puzzle-maker finally cut Doma off.
"So you've finally decided to fight!" Doma exclaid, her eyes lighting up with excitent.
"No, I'm just giving you a hint, as the rules permit. You can start counting from eighty—"
"Eighty-one."
"Including eighty."
"What do you an, 'including eighty'?!"
"It ans you can count the number eighty, not just start from eighty-one."
"Eighty."
"Correct. You have successfully solved the riddle. Congratulations."
"So, can we fight now?"
"..."
As Doma watched in disappointnt, the puzzle-maker's figure dissolved into thin air.
...
"Sothing more interesting than revenge...?"
"Yes. I'm no longer a machine built for vengeance. I've found my true calling."
"This power?"
"Precisely. This dangerous power is... intoxicating."
"But... I only exist because of your obsession with revenge."
Daniel's smirk froze. "What's that supposed to an?"
"It ans that only your true obsession can appear before you. The fact that you're seeing , and not this 'power,' proves that you're just putting on an act..."
"Enough!"
Daniel suddenly roared, grabbing his bandaged left arm with his right. His expression was grim, laced with a faint trace of anxiety.
"If you don't believe , then I have no choice but to unleash my sealed dark and evil side... My dark power will consu the entire city!"
"Pfft..."
"...Did you just laugh?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
...
Looking displeased, Doma erged from the red doorway. A faint sheen of sweat still clung to her skin from the heat inside.
She must have gone through a tough fight, Frank and Owen thought.
Only the pink lock remained on the door to the final stage. Frank's anxiety mounted for a few minutes until, at last, the pink door slowly swung open.
"Are you alright?" Frank asked, approaching Daniel with a worried look.
...
Daniel gave Frank a cold look, said nothing, and walked past him to the door.
The pink lock fell away, and the final obstacle to the last stage was gone.
Before they could proceed, the narrator's voice echoed through the room.
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