"Money mode." The man said.
His pocket appeared beside him and he tapped on the small screen that was before the vending machine.
The screen turned green.
Ding~
And with that, the drink Bam had tapped for went down. The man picked it up and handed it to the boy.
"Here's the drink you were getting." He smiled.
Hey, buy us a drink as well! Winston lampooned with a sour expression. It seed to him that they would not get along well.
"The na's Shibisu." He said. "Seems that you passed as well, lucky boy." Then he turned towards Winston and Amon.
"And so did you guys. Nice to et you."
Winston nodded at him.
"A pleasure. My na is Winston."
"You can call Amon." Amon said from behind Winston.
Shibisu nodded. "You want drinks as well?"
They bonded quickly.
After getting the drinks, Shibisu talked to Bam's teammates. Winston and Amon went back towards Zarhan who wanted to snatch so of Winston's drink.
"Give it!" He yelled.
"No way. Get your own, you brokei." Winston said in a mocking tone.
"You!"
"Please stop!" Amon also yelled from the side.
As their antics continued, a familiar person arrived into the hall.
"Attention all regulars!" Lero ro said entering the room. His declaration managed to stop Zarhan from obsessing over a canned drink as their team turned to look at the ranker.
"I co bearing good news!" He said.
"Good news?" A voice asked among the crowd.
"That's right! We will give you all a chance to partake in a ga." Lero ro smiled.
"No no. That's not advantageous to us at all." Shibisu replied from the other side of the hallway. "Any extra tests will only be disadvantageous."
Lero ro shook his head and chuckled.
"You misunderstand. You are free to not take the test. There is absolutely no penalty for you to do so." Then, his eyes scanned the regulars. "However... The winning team of the ga will be allowed to ascend to the next floor without taking any of the tests that would be conducted later down the line on the Test Floor."
As his words landed, silence descended onto the hall.
Every regular's attention was peaked, looking intently at Lero ro.
"So... does that seem advantageous?" Lero ro smiled.
Before long, everyone that wanted to partake in the test was taken of their respective rooms, each of which was further connected to a collective hall that was at least 70 ters in diater.
Winston, Amon and Zarhan stood in their own cell, overlooking the hall that the 'ga' as Lero ro described would be conducted in.
The entire hall was painted a thick colour of yellowish gold, the like morning streaks of light that scattered across the infinite sky into a thousands more shades. The golden colour was deeply reminiscent of the sun that shone with the colour of steel as it rose from oblivion, the place where ground and sky connected into one. At the center of the hall, a gigantic throne was erected, also plated in a thick golden colour.
Atop the sole seat of the throne, which seed to be capable of holding at least 10 people, sat a loneso golden crown, too majestic to tear one's eyes off of.
"Now that you've all been transported here, I will explain the crown ga to you." The tall human, the ranker Lero ro said, taking the crown from the throne. It was unknown at which point he had ended up there, or perhaps he had always stood at that place, one couldn't tell.
"The crown ga, in short is a ga to 'steal the crown'." He continued.
"The team that holds the crown at the end wins the ga. That might appear simple at first glance, but the rules are complicated. The first is the ti limit." He put the crown atop his head.
"The ga will be conducted in 5 rounds, each 10 minutes long. Only 5 teams can participate in a round at once. Once a team succeeds in holding the crown they pass the round and proceed to the next one.
"In the next round, 4 teams will enter and will compete for it with the team that passed the previous round, which will now defend the crown.
"The team that manages to hold the crown in the last round, wins the crown ga." Lero ro spread out his arms.
"Also, there is a way to finish the rounds early, which is to sit on the throne with the crown on your head." His hand pointed to the crown he held on his head. He sat down on the throne. "However, there is a movent in restriction. The mber of the team that sits on the throne will not be permitted to stand up from it. If they do under any circumstances, their team will lose the round and the next would begin. If such a thing happens in the last round, the ga will be terminated with no winners.
"FYI, the participation is on a first co first serve basis. There is a buzzer on the walls of each of your cells." He said.
Winston looked at the red buzzer at the wall of their cell and nodded.
"Pressing the buzzer will get you your place in the round. Again, the participation is strictly on a first co first serve basis." Lero ro smiled. He took off the crown on his head and kept it
back on the throne.
"Then participation in the early rounds is clearly disadvantageous. We should opt to steal the crown in the later stages. That would be easier." Amon said suddenly.
"That makes sense." Zarhan scratched his chin.
"Correct!" Lero ro yelled.
He heard that? Winston appeared a bit shocked.
"However, doing so would endanger your spot in the later stages. If you postpone participation because of the risk, you won't even be able to participate in the later ga.
"Don't overthink it... you just have to steal the crown." Lero ro whispered, yet audible enough
to reach their ears.
Hearing the words 'steal' Winston's ears perked up.
A chance to act! He thought excitedly. A crown... certainly it carries value, I can tell just by observing from here. A marauders sense of worldly belongings is really sothing. And considering all the spectators and even the ranker, it should serve as great feedback!
Winston grinned, pleased at the possibility.
"Then, we will be beginning shortly. A 5 minute buffer ti is given. Good luck to all
regulars." He said.
"Ah, I almost forgot. A team from another test site will be joining the ga."
Winston's eyes narrowed to so extent.
Another test site?
"Then, let us begin with the ga." He said and disappeared.
"Which round should we go in?" Zarhan turned to Winston and asked.
"I don't know you tell ." Winston smiled at him.
Zarhan and Amon adopted confused expressions.
Winston sighed.
He quieted down for so ti, probably around 20 seconds. Zarhan and Amon didn't say
anything, acutely aware that Winston was devising up a strategy.
"Either the 3rd round or the fourth." Winston concluded. "Although going in on the 2nd one is
also not too bad of an option." He smiled.
"But won't that endanger our winning chances in the long run?" Amon asked. To the side, the spear bearing man also crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"Tsk tsk tsk. That's incorrect." Winston looked towards the throne.
"It's actually a trap. There less chance for the latter teams to win than there is for the starting teams." Seeing their expressions still marred in confusion, Winston explained. "Think of it like this. There's 5 hungry people in a room. One of then has sothing to eat.
Only one person can eat it." Winston turned to them. "The other people will not only have to compete with the holder of the eatable but also with the others that are willing to fight for it. In the sa way, once soone gets seated on the throne, it isn't just a rat race any longer. They wouldn't want so other team to get the crown now would they?"
"That makes sense! That's why Mr. Lero ro said to simply steal the crown and not overthink
it!" Amon yelled in enlightennt.
Zarhan's brows furrowed for a mont before he nodded.
"Then that ans we should go in the 2nd round!" He yelled.
"Fate is an elusive lady." Winston said suddenly. "We never know when an opportunity may
arise. For now, information is needed."
It seems Winston had still yet to master the true artistry of being a charlatan.
Before long, the crown ga officially started.
Lero ro counted down from five and upon reaching 0, the first round began.
Trrrrrrrr!
With a piercing sound, two of the doors opened up, making way for two teams.
Winston smashed his ring finger and thumb together, vying to get a better gauge of the
participants.
Wait... That's! Winston eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at the whirlpool of Shinsu that
centered around the dark green hook. The holder of the weapon, the green skinned lizard girl,
Anaak calmly walked in front of her teammates in long strides.
"Shibisu's team." Amon said.
"Indeed."
Anaak, Hatsu and Shibisu walked towards the other team of regulars without a care in the
world.
Anaak said sothing to her teammates and strode forth by herself. Her teammates didn't
follow.
She's going to take them on herself? Winston's interest was piqued.
One of the regulars from the other team rushed at her. Anaak, simply using her palm, smashed
his jaw.
Bam!
Whoosh!
Quiet~
The entire hall quieted down. The regular after being hit with Anaak's palm right in the jaw flew to the other side or the hall and slamd himself into the wall.
A feat of strength that was unlike anything that Winston could personally hope to mimic, at
least not at sequence 9.
Winston looked wide eyed at the spectacle.
What absurd strength! That sort of strength is sothing I can only hope to achieve at the mid
sequences!
Without delay, the remaining two regulars rushed at her. And that was when Anaak unfurled
the strength of her weapon.
With a swing of her hand, the green hook in her hand elongated like a tallic whip,
ruthlessly smashing right into the other regular.
Whip!
Smash!
With a smash, the regulars was sent 10 ters into the air and then slamd right into the
ground.
The other regular taking advantage of the distraction punched her right in the temple.
Bam!
"What the-!" The regular's surprised voice echoed in the hall. He had managed to hit her
right in the temple, however, he had failed to cause any sort of discomfort, or even movent
of her head.
Anaak turned her head and looked at him.
"So the lizard has a rock for a head." Zarhan whispered from the side.
"My hand!" The regular scread as he clutched his balled hand, right before getting flicked
in the face with the green hook and thrown back.
"Get the crown! Follow !" The regular that had been smashed into the ground got up and
tried to run for the crown, as did his two other teammates who had also gotten up.
Without any trouble, they quickly passed Anaak.
"What is she doing?" Winston muttered imperceptibly to himself. However, just as they got close to the throne, soone jumped atop it.
Holding the green hook in her hand, it extended beyond the throne and she spun it around
with great strength.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The whip like weapon hit them all square in the chest, throwing them back and knocking them
out for good. Then, without any reason and ignoring her teammates, the lizard sat down onto the throne
and adorned the crown onto her head, appearing like a princess sitting atop her throne.
A/N: Gim stones.
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