章 28: Hide and Seek - 4
Winston walked along the safe zone of their spherical test zone. Team A's battle had ended not long after Quant took care of Shibisu.
He reached the final bridge upon which Anaak was supposedly treading towards, only to find Khun at that place. However, Quant supposedly 'saw through' Khun's plan to hide Anaak on a light house and wanted to drag him down towards the chasm below; only to then be shocked at the fact that Khun had expected all of this and was waiting for him to make his move! In the end, Khun and Anaak made their way back to the bridge while the ranker feel down into the chasm.
However, they failed to make through with the victory? How? Quant in a move that even surprised Winston ran all the up the chasm without the usage of shinsu.
I hadn't expected the ranker to be so strong even without the use of shinsu... He shook his head. I don't know much about the strength of the rankers, but Khun must've been knowledgeable about it. It doesn't make sense for there to be an oversight in his plans two times...
Though I suspect it has something to do with Bam being in an opposite team... Winston mused, scratching his chin. Come to think of it, didn't Khun leave the bridge after he came back up? Could he have helped the ranker get back up?
Winston felt more and more sure about his theory.
Even for a ranker, rushing up such a deep chasm seemed to be more than a chore, especially without shinsu. Unless one was a ranker from the Ha family, known for their sturdy and strong bodies, or a princess of Jahad, Winston wasn't sure if they would be able to jump up the height.
He scratched his head and shrugged.
There's no comparison I can make with any other ranker. In the end, I can only speculate. He shook his head.
Then, he looked over towards the center of the safe zone, where every other regular from Team B was gathered.
His eyes, enhanced by Marauder and Swindler potion saw perfectly through the dark, and with combined reinforcement from the shinsu, it felt as if he stood in a perfectly lit hall, instead or the darkened place he stood at. It was also the reason there was no lighthouse around him.
Having looked at the area all around, most of which was just plain, he made his way back to the center. Before the seeker was released, the regulars were given a small buffer period for choosing 'it' and sorting out their respective roles in the test.
With Winston's unique position, he didn't want to partake too much in the test. He would pass regardless of the test results; the reason being his overwhelming amount of points in comparison to everyone else and the fact that, for some inexplicable reason, perhaps for his latent potential being seen, the ranker Hex favoured him among the regulars of the fisherman class.
As Winston reached the center of the safe zone, he saw everyone gathering around and arguing about being the leader. A variety of proposals were put forth by the different regulars as was the willingness to become the leader of their group. However, none was willing to take the risk of potentially having a lackluster leader, especially the Spear Bearers who only has one remaining place in the final passing batch.
Some time elapsed within the darkness. Eventually, everyone began to shout at each other, with no one willing to back down and adopt the other person's strategy for the test.
Winston could perceive that the regulars were themselves beginning to grow quite restless, appearing more and more nervous. He shook his head, feeling a bit regretful about them.
Without cooperating you won't get anywhere in this test... he thought. Then again, this might as well be an individual test...
What Winston had concluded had many reasons behind it. In the first place, however difficult it was to win, winning the game did not provide benefits to a single person. Instead, it equally gave out the points between all regulars.
And each regular, because they were being graded individually by their teachers all along the length of the test, was seemingly on their own without any official allies to speak of. Since everyone was competing for a chance in their own positions, one not only had to compete with the other team, but also with those on the same position as one in their own team.
Winston looked on as the group became more and more chaotic.
He had no reason to help out, neither did he intend to. He was simply here for the participation award one could say. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed both Bam and Endorsi stealing glances in his direction, most likely hoping for him to take charge of the situation.
Winston smiled as he looked on towards the ensuing chaos amidst the regulars.
Then, at the crucial point, Endorsi stood up with an annoyed snarl on her face.
"Gosh! You lot are annoying me! I'll be 'it!' You all follow my lead!" She declared, her voicing silencing all others that spoke before her.
Winston raised a brow at her act.
With that, everyone expressed their tactic approval. What could they do if they didn't? Someone strong was needed to lead the team and Endorsi was just that.
After the matters with the team leadership was sorted out, everyone began to move about as per Endorsi's plan.
The fisherman were to move all together, and were expected to change position as the ranker moved about the darkness. The spear bearers and Hatz were to intercept the Scout at the stairs to the second circle and finally, the light bearers and the wave controller were to collect information in the safe zone and assist the fisherman and Scouts respectively.
It was a logical plan in hindsight, but one that had all too many loopholes in place. And as a swindler Winston was especially sensitive about such loopholes.
Fisherman moving together huh... Winston smiled as he figured out what Endorsi wanted to do.
As for the different regulars that were to delay the seeker, simply put, they were the bait meant to stall until Endorsi's plan could come to fruition.
Naturally, Winston was not included in such a plan, since it would fail if Endorsi targeted him, and she knew that quite well. Yet, here he was travelling with them still, only because he had made his position quite clear in the test. He would not interfere too much in the proceedings.
The band of fishermen ran across the darkness with a lighthouse in front of them.
The shinsu density around them made the fishermen especially slow as the pressure around them was much larger than they had accustomed themselves to.
Winston and Endorsi were the only ones that could maintain their normal speed, with Winston barely noticing a change at all.
Winston stole a glance at Bam who was running along besides them. The irregular boy also seemed to be not terribly affected by the shinsu density in the area, appearing perfectly fine.
Winston smiled.
"Let's rest here for a moment.." One of the fishermen said.
Endorsi only nodded and sat down, supporting her back against the wall.
As they sat down to rest, the one that was showering the princess with compliments spoke out again.
"How did you come up with such a plan princess?" He asked.
"I don't know. It just hit me, you know?" Endorsi flashed a charming smile at him.
"Oh! That's it! You truly deserve to be called a Princess of Jahad!"
The other fisherman that was beside them held onto his sword and spoke.
"We should quickly be on the move again. We never know when the ranker might start to move." He said.
"Don't worry and relax. The princess said the ranker won't come to us until he examines all the other regulars first." The man replied.
"Relax? In such a situation, that might lead to failure." He countered.
"Princess! Looks like we have a non believer!"
Winston cringed at his remark, instead opting to turn his head away from the situation.
Alas, he couldn't turn off his hearing.
"Then... Hang him!" Hearing her words, Winston couldn't help but remember the Habged Man, Alger and the True Rapper... or was it the True Creator?
"What?" The man with the sword exclaimed.
"Lock him up!" Endorsi declared.
"Haha! You're dead you idiot!"
Winston shook his head in genuine annoyance.
"What idiots... can't even see their own doom..." He lampooned.
~~~
"I'm excited for the second round!" Hex exclaimed with a clap.
To the side, the other potions teacher's expressed their doubts through their expression.
"What's wrong?" Asked the wave controller teacher, a strange creature that looked to be a speaking rice ball.
"I don't know... it's just that the regulars in team 2 don't seem all that impressive." He said.
Hex tilted her head but nodded after some thoughts.
"What?! We can't be partial against regulars!" The rice ball exclaimed.
The spear bearer teacher, Bok dol yu shook his head.
"It's not that.. It's just the fact that I don't see a lot of promise in the team. I mean sure, there are two powerful fisherman but the spear bearers are..." He didn't finish his sentence. To his side Hex nodded with her chest puffed out, as if in pride.
"The fisherman in the second team are truly one of the most promising I've ever seen! I am confident they will perform well!" She nodded.
The other teachers still looked somewhat dispirited.
The Light Bearer teacher, Lero ro spoke.
"Come to think of it." He turned towards Hansung Yu.
"Don't the two teams seem awfully imbalanced? All the good wave controller were on the first team. The only good members of the second team are Winston, Endorsi, Hatz and Michel Light." He said.
Hansung Yu flashed a friendly and compassionate smile, appearing full of energy as he took another sip from his coffee.
"No no! Both the teams are incredibly well balanced!" He said.
The rice ball turned his head and spoke.
"I think so too!" He exclaimed.
Every teacher turned to him, their jaws somewhat opened in surprise. Even Hansung Yu looked surprised, his team cup dropping from his hands and onto the ground.
Hey, you're not supposed to be surprised! The rice ball yelled in his mind.
"Is there anyone that you might think will be useful among the wave controllers?" Hex asked.
The rice ball flashed a beautiful smile.
"Well... there is one..." He droned.
"Is that regular that powerful?"
"I wouldn't say powerful." He shook his head. "More like... um... how should I explain?
"It's more like he's akin to a lottery ticket!" He exclaimed.
"Lottery ticket?" Bok Dol Yu asked.
"Yes! Like the one I purchased yesterday!" He exclaimed. "He's got a lot of potential for sure! More potential than I've seen in anyone all my life!"
Hex chuckled.
"Well, it seems that both our classes have something in common."
"Ah, Winston Heath right? A pity he isn't in wave controller class, I've would've taught him some flashy moves!"
Hex shook her head.
"No. He is best suited for the fisherman class I believe."
"I think he can be put in any position really." Lero ro said from the side.
"Yeah, but the best for him is undoubtedly the fisherman." Hex declared with certainty.
~~~
A/N: Throw some Stonez.
Also, tell me your thoughts.
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