As the door creaked, low, burning growls met their ears. All eight of the hound's noses blazed in their direction, even though it couldn't see them yet.
"How will we get past?" Wormheinie whispered.
"Looks like the previous person used a distraction," said Mon. "See?"
Over in the corner there was a flare next to a sign that said "Hurl is currently here to collect the Scone."
"It's clearly a distraction that Swagrid put there," said Larry. "Well, here we goes…"
He grabbed Dishevelle and threw him into the room. It wasn't really very nice of him, but as soon as the enormous muscles were visible to the hellhound it was alive with action. Larry snickered. Disheville was using his amazing athletic talent to avoid the snapping jaws while bouncing off of the hellhound's enormous body, carefully avoiding the numerous pyres of fire.
"Keep going!" Mon yelled to Dishevelle as he took off the invisibility hat which he could have used as a distraction and pulled open the trapdoor. Heat waves rolling off of the dog were making it unbearably warm, similar to whenever Larry farted for a decent period of time in one room. "Want to go first, Wormheinie?"
"No, I don't!"
"All right, make Larry do it."
"Sure," said Mon. "But can he fit? I know! Larry, sweat a bit so you can slide down easier."
Larry slapped himself and built up some good body odor and sweat before jumping onto the trapdoor and squeezing down, looking like a slimy marshmallow being pushed through a funnel.
With a loud SHLOICK noise he popped out and fell. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell, his spherical shape remaining rather aerodynamic and allowing him to keep his head up.
Down, down he fell, until —
"OW! ARGH! GET IT OFF!" Larry had landed on something soft, but it was squirming around and yelling. It felt as though he were sitting on some sort of guy.
"It's okay!" he shouted up to the light the size of an arion hortensis, which was the open trapdoor, "me down here, you can jump!"
Mon followed right away. He landed, bouncing on Larry.
"STOP IT!" came from under them.
"What's down here?" asked Mon.
"Dunno, some sort of person dude. I thinks them here to break fall. Wormheinie!"
There was some shouting and struggling from up above, and Dishevelle and Wormheinie fell right down onto Larry's other side.
"We must be on top of the school," Larry said simplemindedly.
"No, you're on top of a teacher!" said whoever it was Larry was sitting on.
"Lucky this guy was here to break the fall, really," said mon.
"Lucky!" shrieked the person below them. "Get off of me!"
Larry finally rolled off towards the damp wall. He was just about to start looking for where to go next when a loud cackle behind him distracted him.
"Hahaha! You fool! You thought you could stop me! The tables have turned!"
It was Hurl. They were cornered. With one swing of his mop, the four chilluns fell to the ground. As Hurl was guffawing, a sickening knowledge of what was going on began to seep through his brain. There didn't seem to be a way back out of the oubliette. There were no doors anywhere. And then he saw it.
Mon was standing on a sign set into the ground. A large, noticeable sign with large, dangerous text. Text that read "GOT EM, IT AIN'T HERE."
Larry noticed it too, but couldn't read. Mon saw the look on Hurl's face change from complete power to complete devastation. The Scone was not there. Mon whispered this to Wormheinie, who whispered it to Dishevelle. The word spread like a fish through the group. Disheville grabbed Wormheinie by the hair, swung her around his head like a slingshot, and launched her straight up. She grabbed the edge of the open trapdoor space. Dishevelle was able to launch Mon the same way (his hair was long and short enough for this) before Hurl ran over to stop it.
"Stop it!" he said, smacking Larry out of Disheville's hands and jumping in instead. "Throw me first!"
Dishevelle happily obliged, hurlingthrowing Hurl directly into the wall. He quickly grabbed Larry and threw him up, then he got into his own arms and threw himself up. The others were holding off Sir Fluffingtons III, and once everyone had made it out to the hallway, they stood there panting. Hurl's distant yells were ignored.
"Well, that was something," Mon said with razor-sharp wit.
"The Scone gone," said Larry, "we better go bed."
Everyone was in agreement to this last point, so they all made their way back to the billiards room. Nobody stopped them, and they were all able to get into bed and fall asleep without another thought on the matter as they were all far too tired to do anything about it.
* * * * *
The next morning Larry woke up groggily and did his usual pre-breakfast butt clenching exercise (his buttocks were the strongest and quite possibly only muscles in his body). The others were already awake, and had brought breakfast up from the kitchens. Larry ate everything.
"Good thing we et on the way up," said Mon. "But we need to talk, now. Where is the Scone?"
"Exactly what I was considering in my lucid dreams last night!" Dishevelle said. "I'm still the smartest person here while asleep because of these enormous muscles. And you know what I remembered? The post-exam festival is today! What better place to do a hand-off of a small breakfast item than in a big crowd?"
Larry deemed this unlikely and therefore chose to accept it as the utter truth. "We need go now!"
They understood the urgency, and down they went, Larry rolling in front to clear a path through all of those troublesome walls in their way. Clearly all of the other students of Dogfarts had been making their way to the festival, but as soon as they caught a glimpse of Larry making his way there, they gave up the hope of eating something and just went back inside.
Thus Larry, Mon, Wormheinie, and Disheville stood in front of the school, looking out at the various pavilions set up in the bright sunlight. At the very far end of the festival area was Swagrid, glancing down at a pocketwatch and holding a doggy bag (of course only Disheville could see this as his absolutely ripped abs immensely improved his vision).
Larry lost his footing and rolled into a pavilion. The others hurried after him, and no sooner than they got under the large white tent did the open sides suddenly close with unfurling fabric. Larry struggled to get his feet back where they were supposed to be, that is, pointing towards the ground. It was now pitch black.
"It's a trap!" said Mon.
"Wait… I hear something…" Wormheinie said.
A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from above them.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"I don't know… sounds weird to me."
"There's a spot of light on the roof — it's growing."
They all looked up and saw above them a crane, slowly lowering a massive disco ball into the now-open roof of the pavilion. With the sudden light they could see why: there seemed to be some form of dance floor set up to be all endarkened in here, with a big metal frame to hold up the disco ball.
Dishevelle rushed forwards. "What are you doing?" yelled Wormheinie.
"Can't you see? As long as that disco ball isn't in place, you can leave through the roof of the tent! I tried the sides while you were distracted, and they won't budge! Quick, before it hooks up and they close the roof!"
And with that Disheville jumped, straining his muscles to keep the ten-ton ball of shining metal from plugging into its spinner. The others took the opportunity to climb up Larry's buttocks and out the roof, leaving only Larry to be saved from the chamber.
"I can't lift you!" Mon yelled above the noises of grinding metal from over by Dishevelle. "We need Dishboy!"
Disheville sized up the situation, leaped and sprinted to Larry, lifted him up, and as soon as Larry's thick spherical blubber left the tent there was a clattering from behind them. The roof snapped shut, Dishevelle stuck inside.
"Nooooo!" Mon yelled. They had fallen to the ground outside, and they could tell from the strobe lights leaking under the edge of the tent that the disco pavilion was active. They would have to continue with only the three least competent members of the team.
Larry looked up, and saw that Swagrid was still waiting, looking confused at the lack of children enjoying themselves in the fair. "We still gots time to get me Scone," he said, and rolled off towards the bearded giant, Mon and Wormheinie on his tail.
WHAM! They had all run into something that wasn't there. Momentarily visible, James decided that all those people who were hanging out at the school were probably the smarter ones and took off. It was disappointing, really, how even such a boring average Joe as Mr. Smith refused to participate in the festival after Larry arrived (although it made perfect sense in a way).
The collision had bonked Larry off track, and he veered into another pavilion. Mon and Wormheinie felt obliged to follow but expected the worst.
Unsurprisingly the ground around the pavilion fell away, revealing a moat of lava that surrounded the entire tent. Despite being around fifty by one hundred feet, Larry hardly fit.
A sign lowered itself from the roof, brightly illuminated with wasteful incandescent light bulbs. It read "Duel The Robot! GO!"
And with that a crash-test dummy with some servos dropped from the roof and charged. Mon cursed their rotten luck, it was as though Larry was trying to go through every fair game before snatching the Scone.
"Alright, I got this," said Mon. "Just listen to me and I'll tell you what to do."
"Okay, me no good at fight anyway," said Larry.
The running fighting manikin man had arrived at Wormheinie and raised its fist. "Wormheinie! Two feet left, third mop up position!"
Jumping to the left and raising the mop, Wormheinie was able to block the dummy's swing. "Good one, Mon! Keep it up!"
They continued, Larry content to dodge-roll about without going on the offensive and Mon taking the brunt of the robot's attacks.
"Alright, we have him near the edge, but there's only way to do this!" Mon yelled. "Wormheinie, distract with Duster Six, Larry, run interference with Two-Broom Five!"
"But that will —"
"DO IT!" snapped Mon. "I know what will happen! This leaves me free to take him over the edge!"
"But —"
"Do you want the Scone or not?"
"Mon —"
"GO! Look, The hoodie man is nearing the disco pavilion!"
And he was right. There was no alternative.
Mon stepped forward, between Larry holding a broom in between his buttocks and Wormheinie swinging a feather duster wildly. The combined custodial forces created a wind, pushing the Running Fighting Manikin Man™ and Mon towards the edge. With a huge mop jab, they both went over the edge, into the lava pit (don't worry, Mon survived by standing on the RFMM's inert body).
A loud bell signalled the end of the match, and a bridge popped up over the lava pit. Wormheinie and Larry ignored the tickets raining from the roof as they dashed towards Swagrid and the hoodie man.
"What if Mon's gones —"
"I don' care," said Larry, trying to convince Wormheinie. "Look, Swagger is handing the bag of Scone!"
While they were watching the handoff they both tripped into yet another fair pavilion. In front of them was an old-school duck hunting game that seemed to be out of order as there was nobody there to run it.
"I'm glad we didn't have to do that one," Wormheinie said as they went around it. "Put on deodorant or something, I can hardly breathe.
On the other side of the duck game was a table with three differently shaped bottles on it standing in a line. Wormheinie didn't notice the trench that had been dug out around this pavilion and fell in, Larry only avoiding the same fate because he was simply too large to fall in.
"Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!™" Wormheinie yelped as she nearly sprained her feet. She was right; the trench was about eight feet deep and completely surrounded this pavilion, with no visible exit.
Larry was left alone with the bottles in front of him, and all of a sudden bars sprang up around him, out of the trench. Now there was no way out.
Larry waddled up to the table, and grasped a piece of paper on it next to the bottles with one clammy manus. Luckily for him, this paper read itself because it had been custodially engineered to do so and he didn't have to read. This is what it said:

Logic Challenge: 1,000 Tickets
The bottle on the left contains a poisson,
The bottle on the right contains a poison,
The bottle in the middle contains a croissant.
If the bottle's from Vermont,
Then to drink it you don't want,
But if the bottle is from France,
Pour it in your underpants.
If the bottle has a fish,
You hit a fish.
If the bottle has no more,
He throws the fish on the floor.
In other words,
These bottles are able to speak. They are called, in some order, True, False, and Random. True always speaks truly, False always speaks falsely, but whether Random speaks truly or falsely is a completely random matter that shall not be disclosed at the current moment. Your task is to determine the identities of the three bottles by asking three yes or no questions, but each question must be put to only one bottle. The bottles understand English, but will answer all questions in their own language, in which the words for "yes" and "no" are "ball" and "bawl," in some order. You do not know which word means which. After determining their identities, drink the bottle on the right.
Gotcha! If you just drank the bottle on the right, you're dead. To beat the Logic Challenge, write the answer to the logic problem in the form of a poem with the same rhyme and syllable scheme as the poem about the bottles. If you successfully complete the challenge, one of the attendants will provide you with a complimentary bottle containing either a fish or a poisson.

Larry let out a petarade and frowned.
"Terrible bad," he said. "This ain't custode — it's logic — a puzzle. I can't do no logic, I gotta for to guess probably."
"Tell me the puzzle," said an unpleasant, faint voice from down in the trench.
"Of course not," said Larry. "I can does it: four bottles, two are croissants, three has a fish, and if I eat them all then I write a poem."
"That doesn't sound right."
"Gimme a minute two."
Larry slapped and grisped the bottles several times. Then he rolled up and down around the table, pointing at it and making mysterious troglodyte noises. At last, he clapped his hands with a satisfying whack.
"Got 'em," he said. "If me drinks the bottle on the right, me goes forward."
The bottle was empty, clearly whoever made the puzzle wasn't sufficiently cretinous to allow teenagers access to such a substance (or maybe they just got thirsty halfway through).
Larry looked at the empty bottle.
Larry regarded the empty bottle.
Larry realized the bottle was empty.
"Darn, I'll need to think it again."
"I'm going to sort of dig with my hands a bit to get out of here," said Wormheinie from down in the trench. "I can't go in with you, unfortunately, the metal bars are in the way."
Larry started uselessly scribbling something on the paper for no reason whatsoever. Apparently the only person who had done this before him had gotten the right answer and written theirs on the stack of papers, because the dimples and grooves left in Larry's page guided Larry's pen and he was able to accidentally write the correct poem.
The bars sprang back down and one thousand tickets rained down on Larry like confetti. Wormheinie, covered in dirt, was struggling out of the trench. Larry ignored her and looked for Swagrid. It looked as though the Scone had already been passed off, as there was no longer an Alan Walker lookalike there and Swagrid seemed to be missing a doggie bag.
And there they were, sprinting away towards a helicopter by the tar pit.
Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Professor Hurl.

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Wei Huo was being washed away by the gushing water. Erosion from the flowing water for years had caused the slopes to become wet and slippery. It became similar to a slide where one could slide down endlessly until they reached the bottom. Wei Huo was shielding his head and adjusting his position in the midst of sliding down, avoiding himself from bumping into sharp stones.
Following the endless gliding, Wei Huo heard the deafening roar of a waterfall.
Wei Huo panicked. "!!!"
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. He could only shield his head and was swept away by the torrent. Seconds later, he saw the sun and the sky.
The cave was in the shape of a vertical shaft and appears to be bottomless. Looking above, one could see the sky with sunlight peeking in through the gaps. Water was running out from countless holes on the wall. Just like that, a waterfall was formed in the middle of the mountain.
Wei Huo was held down firmly by gravity. He could only helplessly fall into the endless pit cave. The view of the sky and sun he saw was momentary. The next second, he had dropped into the waters again. The force of a stronger water current swept Wei Huo into a more cavernous place.
Beneath the pit cave were numerous turbulent flows. Wei Huo had been swept around, and in the end, was washed away into a subterranean river. Sometimes he would bump into a rock while other times he would be hoisted up and dropped down vigorously. Wei Hua felt as though he was riding a roller-coaster.
Without any protective measures, Wei Huo could only embrace himself tightly during such situations. In the midst of this chaos, Wei Huo still managed to spare a tiny bit of time to do some thinking.
'I'm sure something big is hidden in this cave. This roller-coaster-like subterranean river is surely a creation by God himself!'
Boom! Alongside a blaring sound, Wei Huo was wiped into the center of a subterranean lake. The water's surface became much calmer and while he was whirling slowly on the water, Wei Huo saved himself with his athletic body from years of persistent intensive training.
That was why even though he went through such an extreme and thrilling torrent, he only had a few bruises without any severe injury.
However, he still felt slightly dizzy. He fluttered around the water for a bit and was washed ashore.
Wei Huo lifted his head on the shore. Although he still felt a bit light-headed, the scene ahead awed him. In front of him was a moon gate made of white jade. Glowing plants bloomed on both sides of the gate. Purple glows, red glows, blue glows and green glows were radiating from the plants.
All sorts of radiance lightened up the jade gate. Images of red-crowned cranes, phoenixes, spirit apes, and white deers were carved on the jade gate.
"Indeed, I was right!" Wei Huo swayed his head and walked up to the gate. He was prepared to push open the jade gate.
No words were needed, that had to be the cave concealing Qi Cultivation's rare scrolls. Finally, after 10 years, he found it!
He pushed the jade gate hard, but it did not budge.
He pushed again, but still, nothing happened. 
Wei Huo frowned. "Are there any other operations needed to open this gate?"
Right when Wei Huo fell silent, an image appeared on the jade gate. Not long after, a notification bar with the writings 'Power On' popped up.
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
'This is not a jade gate. It's a laptop, isn't it?'
After the power was turned on, another image appeared on the jade gate. Following, countless thumbnails of red-crowned cranes, phoenixes, spirit apes, and white deers appeared. The thumbnails were all arranged in different orders. He took a closer look. 'What the f*ck…'
'Isn't this sh*t a puzzle game?'
Why would the 'Power On' notification pop up in an ancient Qi Cultivation Master's jade gate? Why did a puzzle game appear after it was turned on?
The notification popped up again.
"Mini-Game commences. Scores of the minigame will determine the player's degree of completion for the inheritance of Qi Cultivation."
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
Wei Huo almost forgot that Earth was gradually being gamified by God!
Wei Huo closely examined the screen. There was a 'Start Game' option on the game interface. It seemed like he could use some time to look into the early stage of the game.
Wei Huo believed that players would be swarming into that place, scrambling over each other once they discovered it when time recovered. One by one, they would wait for their turn to play the minigame. The gap between players would be pulled apart as the minigame's mark would decide the degree of completion when inheriting Qi Cultivation skills. In turn, the Europeans and Pros would have a wide gap of separation from Africans and Noobs[1]. If the Africans and Noobs do not want to fall behind, they would have to reload cash!
That was the first time Wei Huo felt something's fishy. Was God really the one behind this Earth's gamification? Will those who recovered from the time halt really become players of the game?
It was all Wei Huo's guess at that point as God did not say anything.
No matter what, Wei Huo had to speed up his progress. He tapped the start button, and the puzzle game began!
"The time limit is 60 seconds. Scores accumulated within the time limit will decide on the inheritance completion level for the rare Qi Cultivation Scrolls. The game will start in three seconds. Three... Two... One... Start!"
Wei Huo kept his eye on the ball as the marks accumulated would decide his degree of completion for the inheritance of the Qi Cultivator's Rare Scrolls. Whether he could increase his lifespan would also be dependent on the rare scrolls. Otherwise, when the time halt ends, he might already be dead!
Although he put in all his effort, puzzle games were not his specialty. He only managed to gain a little over 2000 points after 60 seconds.
Soon after, another notification popped up. "According to the Player's accumulated scores, you have been awarded a Qi Cultivator's Rare Scroll inheritance with a 35% completion rate. Would you like to replay the game?"
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
'You can f*cking replay the game?'
Wei Huo let out a deep breath feeling relieved. 'Do you think I will give up that easily before I reach 100%?'
Wei Huo immediately tapped the 'Replay' button. In the next second, a dialog box popped up on the jade gate.
"Replaying the game requires 90 Magical Stones. You have not met the requirements for replaying the game. Please reload your cash."
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
'D*mn you! So I have to reload my cash!'
Just then Wei Huo started wondering again, 'What are Magical Stones?'
Another notification popped up on the jade gate. "Are you willing to accept the inheritance? Please take note that the inheritance can only take place once!"
Wei Huo did not have any other better options. 'What can I do? I am very desperate too but I don't have any Magical Stones!'
He tapped on the accept button, and right then the jade door was opened!
The place oozed a mystical and magical aura. Inside the door, rays of light were shining through the colorful fog. The area was occupied by numerous decorated jade palaces. Cries of the red-crowned crane filled his ears every so often, and white deers would hop across streams. Immortals were sitting in their residences.
A magical voice suddenly resounded through the area.
"Pay 49 Magical Stones for a 1% increase of inheritance completion rate, or 81 Magical Stones for a 3% increase of inheritance completion rate."
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
'What is this? Is this some Daoism chant? No wonder it was always 49 and 81 in Daoism chants[2].'
Wei Huo was dejected. He wanted to purchase the completion rate, but he had no Magical Stones!
It was then that Wei Huo realized the in-game purchase system was not created yet. Players still could not make in-app purchases. This game was not well developed enough!
[1] Europeans - Lucky players were known as "Europeans" among China gamers.
Africans - Unlucky players were known as "Africans" among China gamers.
Pros - Those who have excellent skills in playing games.
Noobs - Those who lack skills in playing games.
[2] Daoist funeral tradition requires family members to mourn for 49 days after the deceased was buried or cremated while the Daoist text has a total of 81 verses.


Wei Huo has been ignored and overlooked by almost everyone his entire life, including God. In a bid to transform the world into a more game-like one, God halted time for all humanity except for Wei Huo, leaving him to fend for himself. The teenager has no choice but to strive for survival whilst waiting for the day humanity’s clock to start ticking again. But wait a minute! What if that wait is longer than a person’s lifespan? Follow Wei Huo on his survival journey in a world infested with mutated beasts and carnivorous plants.

Rose already starts eating using chopsticks. I feel proud she uses them well at young age. As I turn on the TV and scan for the sports channel, I take a bite of my tonkatsu. The UEFA soccer match begins. Just in time, baby.
After Aunt Maine microwaves the pizza, she takes a seat on the sofa with us. "Make sure you start packing after school. It's in a few weeks, you know?" She takes a bite of the pizza.
Rose babbled with a full mouth, "I'm really going to miss Winterville," I'm not. "Why are we leaving again?"
"Don't eat when your mouth is full, grumbly." I ordered, "And, we're leaving because we have to meet up with our relative because of the school advantages I'll get since they're paying for my school funds and enrollment. I also have to start employing or get an internship that I need to do during or after university. So much other great choices out there."
Rose glared at her noodles for a few seconds before blurting, "That is a lot of business crap."
Aunt and I looked at her while our eyes widen, "Rose! Language! Remember what I taught you?"
We both recite, "The mouth who curse is a mouth of dirt."
I'm such a hypocrite.
"And because you said that, I'm taking some of your noodles." I grabbed her cup and poured a little bit into mine and returned it, "Anyway, Aunt Maine. I know you just told us about this a few days ago. But you never told us which relative we're going to meet, just that it was someone on your side."
Her back stiffens while responding, "It's hard to explain. It's, uh, kind of like family members by heart, not blood."
"And we're back with the UEFA semi-finals, after the break!" The sports commentator greeted loudly before I turn the volume down.
"So, we're not related to them? Kinda like a family friend?" I interrogate.
"No, uh, we are related. Don't worry about it." She claims as I still don't properly understand. What's her deal?
The sports commentator announces, "We're on a tie breaker game between the Black Eagles and Ravens, tonight folks, with a 3-all pointer!"
"That doesn't make any sense." I say before taking a small bite of noodles.
"You'll just have to see when we get there. Surprise, y'know?"
"Are we not allowed to know anything about this relative of ours?"
The commentator continues, "And the game continues! Looks like we have a tough match, right now!"
"No, you are. Just hold on for now." Aunt takes another bite of her pizza.
"Not even one specific name? Seriously?"
"Later on."
"Why not now?" My voice constantly keeps raising since I'm not understanding why she's making me play a jigsaw puzzle. With no puzzle pieces. "Why is it a surprise? I feel like we have a right to know one thing about who we'll literally be living with for months or even years."
The commentator yells out, "Ravens start off with the ball! We can see right here that both teams are fighting over the ball, very badly, though."
I notice Aunt glancing at Rose, "Just because, okay!"
"Just because what?!"
"Ooh!" the commentator exclaims, "Hale from Black Eagles finally stole the ball and has an open field of the goal net!"
"How about we just finish eating for now?!"
"What harm does it do to say one name right now?!"
The commentator gasps and the audience go wild, "This might break the tiebreaker right here… the ball is kicked, and… and…"
"We're meeting your father!"
"Missed!" The commentator shouts, "And the crowd goes silent and it's still a tie!"
I stand up not believing what she was saying. My eyes furrowed as I was in between feeling enraged and extremely confused. Why would she do this to us? I look at Rose which paused from eating. She was also in disbelief and stunned.
Aunt Maine was just staring at her food, avoiding my gaze and was completely silent. I didn't know what else to say so I just left the table without another word. I stomp my feet while going back to my room.
"Whoops, looks like our Hale got a major injury. We're going to have another short break, folks! Stay tuned for the UEFA Semi-Finals!"
I enter my room and lock it. I drop on my bed suddenly losing the motivation to get up from it. I just wanna sleep and never wake up. But my eyes are wide open and what happened at dinner keeps replaying my mind. As well as everything that's happened to me since when I was a child. It's all flashing back to me. I roll to my other side and find another comfy position, but the memories are screaming like a banshee.
As much as I don't have any energy whatsoever to get up right now, I still wanted to forget. Distract myself from this entire day. I reached for my bag and tried to find the sketchpad.
What? Why is it not here?
I know that I put it right here after finding it down the trench earlier… it can't go missing, again. What if I dropped it on the way home? Shit. All those ideas are gone. Lost. Now some random guy has it. Or a deer ate it. Okay, that's worse.
Scratching my head furiously, I grunt and fall back to my bed. Maybe I'll just try even harder to get some sleep.
Yeah, no.
I look at my window contemplating whether I should sneak out and go look for it, and as well as leaving this house for a bit. Until I heard a soft thunder from outside. It's gonna rain. Great. 
Can this day get any worse?
My phone dinged and I grabbed it from my bag.
1 new private message:
Cygoose: Bro, did you hear they're cancelling the UEFA Semi-Finals this month?

All Rhys Harrison ever wanted was to leave the small town of Winterville. But when his friends forced him to join their little trip through the mysterious forest that lies within the edge of town, he hears a voice. And it was pulling him more and more. As he roams to find that voice, he finds something else... a compelling yet curious pitch black entrance to the unknown. Just what could be waiting out there for the sluggish and dull life of Rhys?

" Wait, Lain Jun, do you know him?" A male student called out as we turned away. 
The other students stare at Minjoon in disbelief. The golden spoon young master was acting coquettish with a stranger.
" Yeah, he's a friend of mine." Minjoon places his hands on his hips. 
" Um, mister, is- is everywhere else like this too?" A female student asked trembling and fisting her uniform skirt. 
I stay silent, and ignore them as I continue to stare at Minjoon. He's quite adorable in this world, his cheeks are chubby and his eyes are large and slanted up with thick lashes framing them. His body's previous owner seemed to be in his emo teenage stage. His ears are littered in piercings of sliver earrings and thin chains. 
Minjoon turns to me also curious about the girls question. 
" Yeah it is." I clear my throat before answering. 
" Mm-hm." Minjoon nods, probably drafting future plans in his head. " Anyway, I'm leaving now!" 
Minjoon waves at the students as he held my hand my arm, tugging me away. 
" Wait Jun-!" A male students voice drifted away as Minjoon and I got further away. 
" Are you sure you want to separate from them this early?" 
Minjoon glances at me, before shrugging. " It's not like I have to follow Jun's fate for me to complete the mission."
" True." I hum in complementation before shrugging. 
" Plus they're most likely to push me in front when there's another game." 
" You played that well with the pandas?" I smile and  slide his hand down my arm to interlock our fingers. 
" Of course, who do you think I am? Hmph!" Minjoon sassily flips his short hair before chuckling in despair. " Ahh, I'm gonna have to act like an arrogant emo teen..." 
" It's cute, you won't have to act mature and I can spoil you as much as I want." 
" Hey! I don't act mature, I am mature!" He laughs out loud, in an adorable light airy laughter. 
" Sure, sure. Now, my mature host, where do you plan on going now?" I ask after I lean in to kiss his temple. 
" Hmmm..." Minjoon looks around as we continued to walk. 
Everything was normal, Middle aged ladies were selling snacks from stalls to students and office workers that were going home right now. Children laughing, adults smiling, a peaceful afternoon. 
He turned towards me, swinging our adjoined hands with a smile blooming on his face revealing his small dimples. 
" Let's go to a hotel for now. We have a week to relax before the economy and society shut down." 
" As you wish, love." I gently smile. 

I flag a taxi to take us to the closest 4 star hotel. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Babe! Up! Jump to the right! It's up there!" Minjoon enthusiastically shouted and animatedly pointed through the metal bars. 
Minjoon was currently locked in a cage. 
Why? Because we're currently playing a survival game. 
After that week of freedom passed, Minjoon decided to join a game that held this worlds protagonist shou (male bottom in a relationship). Once we entered a certain building we were transported to this separate dimension where the game was being hosted. 
Most players didn't have a choice of choosing their desired games, simply stepping on certain brick would send them straight into a game arena. They didn't know where the dimension doors were located. 
All these humans could do is prepare and trend carefully. Though at this point in time, there's not much they could do. Most of the mob characters would die these upcoming months. What would be left in the world are those with at least simi decent/ third rate or higher leveled skills, strength, and/or luck, enough to survive. 
And after that... well, there is no predicted future. That is why Minjoon and I were sent here. To ensure the survival of the two protagonists, even after we leave them in an uncertain future. 
Our mission this time is to guide and ensure the survival of the two protagonists for ten or more games. We also need to increase their survival rate for when/if we leave them afterwards. 
If they decide to save the world, they would have to hover over the thin line between life and death every single day. 
Or they could chose to simply live for themselves, and enjoy what this earth has to barely offer in an apocalyptic setting. 
If they were smart, they wouldn't try to be heroic when other humans were going crazy, busy in abandoning their morals and ethics. 
" I know, darling, I can see it!" I shout back, grinning at my cheer leader, as I sprint up the rough edges of the deteriorating stairs. 
The last couple steps completely fall apart and fall down into a dark abyss, taking a few players along. Their screams get swallowed up in the darkness below us. 
" Hup!" 
I leap forward and roll into a landing on the floating piece of ground. 
" Sigh, is this it?" I mumble as I adjust my leather jacket. 
In front of me was a red button on a mount, made of stone, reaching up to my waist. 
Behind it was a sign, " Press both buttons at the same time to win." 
There was only one button in front of me. The other one was in the cage where Minjoon and the protagonist were trapped in. 
The players in this game were split into two teams. 
Half were trapped in a bird like cage, forced to solve some shitty puzzle while the rest were told to run along a board in the shape of the puzzle. 
The floating cage team was on a time limit to finish the puzzle. For every five minutes that passed, traps would be activated. Arrows, daggers, hatchets, all sorts of weapons flew around each time they passed a five minute mark. 
Moreover, for every piece they completed, the area where the other team was running on would fall into the abyss under us. 
We were meant to work together to finish the game, however... Well, human nature happened.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
" Kekeke!" 
This games host, a large black crow, flew by on top of me, crackling with a creepy voice. It seemed happy more than half of us died. My entire team, other than me, died while less than five people remained on the cage team. 
" You guys done yet?!" I shout loud enough for them to hear me. 
" Not yet-! Ubg!" Minjoon held his mouth tightly, as if to throw up. " Hey mister! Put the last piece in!" 
" Got it!" A young man of a slim build scrambled around to find the last hidden puzzle piece under a couch cushion. 
Once he put the puzzle piece together with all the other pieces, creating a picture of the arena I'm on, he runs towards the red button he has on their side. 
" On the count of three, babe!" Minjoon shouts over to me. 
I nod in response and place my hand on the button. 
" One, two... three!" 
That man and I press our respective buttons simultaneously. 
[ Ding! Game complete!]
"Well done, ya shits! You get to live for another day! Now fuck off!" 
The crow, settled on top of the fancy bird cage, shrieked and started to kick us out of its dimension. 
" Whoa!" 
The survivors all get teleported back to the building we first entered. 
" We- we survived!"
" Wha!" 
Many started sobbing in despair, anger, and grief of being thrown in this situation and guilt yet relief of being one of the few that survived. 
I help Minjoon up. " You okay?" 
" Turns out I'm not good with heights." He grumbles as he held on to me, dizzy and lightheaded. He seemed a bit pale and nauseous, but other wise fine. 
I chuckle at how cute he looks acting spoiled as an emo teen. 
" Here, sit for a minute. I'll get you something to drink or eat." I pick him up and gently seat him in one of chairs this cafe had. 
I head to the staff only area as many of the survivors scrambled, in a rush to leave this building in fear of being pulled into the game again. 
Only three people were left in this building. Me, Minjoon, and the shou protagonist Xuan Rong. 





This novel centers around the system (seme/top), who had been dealing with shitty hosts until he finally finds one to his liking. But he ends up liking him too much? 
~~~~~~~~
This novel will have world hopping!!! My fav lol
This is a gay, BL, yoai novel. There will be inappropriate content for those under 18. There is smut! 
My novel will focus on their romance and the worlds they travel to. 
Give it a try people! And let me know if any of you have any good ideas for worlds they should travel to.

The four shivered when the huge and ancient portal showed a middle age woman in her long black dress.  Her eyes were dead and her feature displayed fierce anger. She behold a long pointed rustic steel. She purposely dargged it on the wooden floor as it emits a noise and carvings. Hue can feel how the hatred on this woman. It reminded him of the past when his Aunt Winnie would look after him during his parent's overseas vacation or trip. 
"I know you are there...." The woman hummed as she raised the rusty steel and hammer it on the bed. The action immobile the four. It was so sudden that all they can do is to cover their mouth to muffle their shrieks. The steel passed through them as it bounced back from the bed's soft surface. Nod gulped as Stripe screamed. Hue and Oak tried to stop Stripe but his scream went unheared. 
"It seems that they cannot see or hear us." Oak realised. 
"We are invisible!" Nod agreed with a dumbstruck expression. 
"Then what is the point of us being here?" Hue raised as he step out of the bed still yanking Stripe with him. 

"I know you are under the bed." The woman sang as she laugh in a foreboding way. 
Oak and Nod ducked under the bed as they exted their hand toward the boy but it seems that the boy can't see them. 
The woman started beating the innocent bed till the pillows got scattered as she laugh in hilarious and display.
Nod can view how the boy's tears drip on the cold floor as he kiss it. His silent call for help awakened a part of his heart to extend. Nod crawled under bed as he tried to pull him out but his hand passed through. Nod punched the floor and it surprised the boy. Oak and Nod exchange glances, Nod silently tried to grab the ball when the steel suddenly got thrusted on the kid's side as it transparently went through Nod's stomach. 

Stripe and Hue saw how the woman thrust the steel. Hue threw a punch but his fist did not collided with woman's shoulder. Stripe tried to kick her the same thing happened. Hue and Stripe tried to hugged and pull the woman backwards but they were hopeless. They end up hugging each other. 
Oak tried to slide on the bed and pick the blanket but she can't connect.
Nod realised that the only thing they can touch was the boy's ball. 

The next thrust was more forceful and powerful. Nod slide through the boy as he used the ball to block the woman's attempt. His wirst and palm got electrified from the impact. The boy was surprise to see that the ball remained unmoving even being stricked. 
The boy turned to his side as he hugged himself. Oak was relieved to see that Nod secured the boy with the ball. 

The woman started to celebrate as she thought she was hitting the boy's head. When she ducked down to see the boy unharmed she frowned. The woman reached out for the ball and use her strength to remove it but someone steadied it. When Hue and Stripe saw that Nod was gripping the ball and is having a tag of war with the woman they inhaled the boy is safe, not to mention that he is still shaking in fear. The woman suddenly gnashed her teeth and used both of her hand to pull back. When Nod finally released the ball the woman got slid backward with a force she can't see. The ball roll on the floor and Hue picked up. The woman ducked in under the bed to yank the boy out of it's shell as the boy wepts. 

The woman pulled his hair to stand up as he begs. Nod kicked the bed but his foot went through. Oak run toward the woman to pull her hair but she can't touch it. Stripe stamp his feet on the floor and it was heared the woman glanced to where the sound was coming to see that it was the ball dribbling. Hue used his gloved hand to create a noise. Stripe pouted since he thought his strategy worked but it was Hue who did a good job in distracting her.

The woman screamed at the boy's ear as she pointed her finger. 
"You think, that trick will work on me?!" The woman snorted as she start to use the still in hitting the kid's thigh to a point he cried to kneel but the woman gripped his hair to remain standing. 

Hue cleched the ball. His teeth are tittering as the boy's cry got louder and the woman get more pleased. Hue raised his hand as he held the ball. It was like he is pitching on a baseball's diamond field. He striked with all his might and the woman got beaten on the waist. The woman glanced back it utter fear. The ball rolled back toward Hue and he dribbled it as he gets closer to the woman who dropped her steel and released the boy. Her eyes were wide, she can't believe what is happening. The ball seemed to have been protecting the boy.  Hue single handedly jammed the ball on the floor as it bounce hitting the cieling. The woman watched the ball almost falling at her face when Stripe caught it for her. The woman yelled as the ball halted in her face mid air. She run in fear as her step got distant. 

The boy watched as the ball descend gently. The boy watched the ball and hugged it close to his heart as he chanted the word.. "Thank you." 
Oak and Nod watched holding hands as the scene touches their heart. Hue and Stripe were sniffing hardly that their noise startled the boy. His face now appeared properly. He got a pale skin and baby blue eyes. His hair were wavy for a boy who seemed under ten.

To be helped by something invisible put on a light and warm tag to the heart. Yet to help while your disable with unexpected things is beyond unbelievable.

After assessing the scenario, the groups start discussing.

"So it's obviously Hansel and Gretel." Pierre starts.

"The plaque says the witch will come back, so we're probably under a timer." Sherlock adds. 

"Meaning we have to finish the task before she comes back," states Theodore and the groups nod in agreement. 

"So we have to make the witch a meal?" Pierre questions. 

Victor observes the fireplace, "Did you notice the scale attached to the caldron? I'm guessing we have to add a certain amount of weight to the pot. When we hit a certain weight, the scenario will be complete."

"The specific weight should be..." Kai looks towards the two in the cage.

"Sacrifice Hansel and Gretel?" Abel follows his gaze.

"But judging by the food on the table, there's probably other foods in all the cabinets and drawers. I'm guessing we'll have to solve puzzles to find more food and it'll take a lot of time, but it's a second, harder option," says Victor. 

Sherlock nods in realization," I see, they're giving us two options. This option, in itself, is likely a test to divide teammates depending on their morals."

"Those with less humanity would want to sacrifice Hansel and Gretel. Those with a strong sense of justice would want to search for food." 

"But we don't know how much food to put in even if we do manage to find everything?" Pierre questions. 

Theodore lifts up cage with one hand and gives an estimation," Should be around two-hundred."

Kai denies his solution, "We can't rely on an estimation. Plus, we don't know how much weight the cage is contributing.

While holding the cage, he's been investigating it," Then we'll need a key." He points to a keyhole.

Abel suddenly pipes up, "They haven't reacted to anything, meaning they're like the previous characters we've met."

"They'll probably only move when we do certain actions. They probably have on-command reactions to different situations." Sherlock contributes the theory he's been working on. 

"We need to find their weight and find enough food." Lucien concludes.

Victor wants Tih's input, "Boss, what do you think-" 

Everyone looks towards Tih as he rips off a piece of fruit roll-up wallpaper and stuffs it into his mouth. There's already a large portion missing from the wall, meaning he's been at it for a while. Tih hasn't really been paying attention to their conversation, instead focusing on the sweet smelling house.

"..." Sherlock is slightly embarrassed by his group's unprofessionalism. 

In the silence, they all hear munching coming from behind. They turn to see Basile munching on gingerbread brick he slid it out of the frosting that was keeping it in place. Basile munches on it like corn, spinning the brick on its sides. Frosting nips the tip of his nose but he has no hands to wipe it off, but he doesn't seem to care. His unfeeling red eyes stare at the brick as his chipmunk cheeks bulge. He doesn't seem to care about his appearance, much like Tih.

Sherlock, who no longer feels embarrassed, and the others look at the two foodies and admire their lax attitude before getting back on topic.

As the leader of four geniuses, Victor doesn't take much time to fit into his role. "Then let's split up and look for fruit and the key to the cage. Agreed?" 

Everyone nods and gets to work. Some start opening cabinets and other start opening drawers below the counter. They're starting with the doors without locks or puzzles on them. Some find food, codes, keys, or other puzzle pieces used for other puzzles they haven't looked at yet. Everything they find is placed on the countertop. 

While others are busy searching, Tih and Basile continue snacking on the walls.

Tih walks from one end of a wall to another, ripping the wallpaper off with him. He munches on it like cattle and it all disappears into his mouth. He walks near Basile to try a red and white circular candy. 

The albino breaks off piece of licorice and stuffs it inside his jacket. He continues collecting bits of confections and it all disappears inside his jacket, but no matter how much he shoves in, his jacket doesn't grow any larger.

"Eh? Was this always here?" The group turn to look at where Theodore is pointing. It's the wall Tih ripped. Behind the fruit wallpaper was a hidden code. 

"Looks like we need to search in unconventional places as well." Sherlock notifies.

Lucien questions, "Can't we use this?" He knocks on the walls, referring to the entire edible house. 

Kai explains,"Gingerbread is too light and candy would melt, so there's no point in putting it in the caldron. The floorboard beneath Kai creaks. Curious, he tries to lift it up. Underneath lies a code and a banana. 

After gathering all the clues in one small pile, Victor speaks up once more," Everyone take one thing and try it on everything until it works. Or if you think you can do it, try one of the doors with puzzles." Everyone either grabs a letter, number, or symbol code, a key, or a piece to a puzzle and start trying them on every door it might belong to. After opening one and grabbing the things inside, it would be sorted on the counter and the process would repeat. 

All the clues are different, they can't be used twice. There's one key thats end can be turned to create different patterns and enter different shaped holes .

Occasionally, there's also objects like magnifying glasses or wrenches. 

Pierre uses the wrench to unscrew a, too small to be done manually, screw made out of some kind of hard candy that can't be broken. 

Some of the many puzzles include sliding puzzles, ball-in-a-maze, brain teasers, anagrams, chess problems, a cross sums puzzle, a cryptogram, and a disentanglement puzzle. Often, there will be multiple puzzles that are interlaced together. The groups need to work together for those ones.

I’m sorry, but I can’t deal with this site anymore. I’m moving to a better place. Wattpad. Out of pure spite. I’ll be transferring and deleting chapters as I go.

The male salamander lets out a roar and charges me leaping to the left I am hit by strong gust of wind and pushed back into his path, I twist in the air as his head swings in from the right just getting my foot on his nose and using it as a springboard to get some distance again landing in a crouch I look to the female salamander, I hear a voice ring out in my mind.
 
*well, this is fun she seems to be more of a support than a straight up fighter*
 
 
I roll my eyes and channel lightning magic in to my muscles to move faster, as I do arks of electricity jump from my legs to the floor, in a flash I charge the female bringing my halberd around for an overhead swing I see I flicker of flame from my right I snap out my wings to change my flight path straight up, only just in time to as I feel the heat of a fire ball fly just beneath my feet, grumbling I flip mid air and dive down to the female to finish my attack , she looks up to me and opens her mouth and lets out another strong gust of wind slowing me to a stop making my attack miss by a fingers width.
 
 
Growling again the female salamander spins and gets a glancing blow with her tail, just as I recover from the stubble a flame red tail appears in my peripheral vision slamming me across the arena twisting in the air, I manage to get my feet beneath me and slide a few feet before I can right my self again, checking my side I notice that I am not as hurt, as I should be, the voice in my head speaks again.
 
*looks like we need to thank Lilu*
 
 
Nodding I shift my gaze between the male and female and try to think of a plan of action, coming up with nothing I mutter to myself I say.
 
 
"when in doubt hit it really hard, time for Maximum effort"
 
 
With my power still flowing though my body I move again this time I move so the male salamander is in the way of the female so she cant hit me with another gust, as I get close he opens his maw and a fire ball begins growing, the closer I get the bigger the fire ball gets, he shoots it out of his and I leap to the sky and do a front flip over the fire ball and shift my power from my body to my weapon, just before I land I bring the blade of the halberd down he shifts slightly making it a glancing blow and making the my hit the ground of the arena with the blade, a boom echoes around the arena and dust is kicked up hiding me and the salamander from view, not wasting anytime I spin with my halberd again this time it's a direct hit and another boom rings out and the salamander get shot out of the dust.
 
 
The dust begins to settle and several gusts from the female salamander clear the dust from the air, I lock eyes with the female salamander with a grin on my face but it drops as I hear a pained roar, snapping my gaze I see the male salamander get back to his feet, my eyes catch on a slight glint of metal embedded in his side and I look to my halberd, swearing I see that the top two foot of my halberd is gone looking around I see a few shards or metal on the floor, I throw the useless shaft of the halberd to the floor and say.
 
 
"Well, this could be a problem"     
 
 
 
Shifting my stance, I crack my knuckles and smile again, shifting my magic back to my legs this time I send it to my wings as will making me look like a tesla coil I burst forward leaving just a puff of dust where I was standing and reappearing in front of the female salamander I shift the magic from my wings to my arms and let lose a left right hook combo, I jump to the air slightly and bring my foot down in an axe kick like Lilu suggested, the females head slams in to the ground and it makes a pained grunt, feeling the ground rumble beneath me I put one foot on the snout of the female and jump and twist bringing my leg around in a spin kick to the side of his face and pushing myself away to get a bit of space.
 
 
Turning I see the male recover and nuzzle the female she responds and they both look to me grate they are a mated pair, this is definitely going to be a problem, shrugging my shoulders I get back in to a ready stance, the male charges me again and I charge him as well inches from each other I drop down in to a slide and pass under him only to be hit by his tail and a wind gust which makes me wrap around his tail like I'm a blanket, as the just stops I slide off landing on my knees between both of them I turn my back on the female but make sure I can see her from the corner of my eye.
 
The male roars and charges me again with fire in his mouth, as he moves I see the shard of metal in his side again and I smile and charge him back shifting my magic to my wings again I move in a flash ducking to the side just before his open maw I get to the shard of metal in his side grabbing hold of it I let out a scream as I push as much of my lightning in to it as I can, several booms of thunder ripple out from between me and the male salamander lightning crackles arounds us, the salamander lets out a roar of anguish as smoke begins to pour out from between its scales and eye, with a sickening pop his eyes burst and he falls to the floor twitching but dead, I turn and look at the female as she lets out a heart rending roar of sorrow.

Arura falls from heaven can she survive? can she get revenge ?





join the discord server https://discord.gg/M6mnpJK


"Esai, get ready the guests will be arriving in an hour!" his mother called out to Esai from downstairs "I will be down in a minute." Excited to go down as Esai did his last-minute combing his spiky hair make it presentable in front of his friends, family, and guests. After two months misgivings from Miss Dark. She is gone, that is all Esai cared about he had been looking forward to celebrating the victory over the misfortunate. The school has provided a new teacher that will be a permanent placement from Miss Dark. Esai did not care who took over; he can deal with that later. 
Yesterday was his birthday Esai just turned eleven years old. Profoundly Esai is one more year close to move to middle school soon. He went downstairs to the living room that is repurposed to have birthday decorations set all over the room. It is set to have portablel tables that have basic food, pork, beef, and his personal favorite Teriyaki chicken that anyone can put in a bowl that contains rice. Mom has freshly made Crunchyroll at least two dozen trays for Esai to greet the guests to partake and thank them for coming.
There were several people that they invited as their good neighbors from across from their house. Cindy and Kevin came in as Esai greeted them with the Crunchyroll  given to them as his thanks for coming.  There were several people that mom invited that he does not know very well regardless he thanked them for coming as Esai gave them the rolls. Then his friends Isaac, Abel, and Leo had come. Esai says hello and thanked them as they come in and take the rolls as well. 
Their parents also came as well. Isaac's and Abel's parents were eyeing Esai weirdly which leaves awkwardly saying hello to them as they take the rolls. What gives, they've been like that ever since Tani Dark left as they were concerned about Esai which is strange. They seem to know something that he does not which Esai often hates that it always leaves him guessing what they know of. Leo's foster parents seem to be irritated, if Esai had to guess it is his jokes. Leo jokes about Esai's mom homemade Crunchyroll "What do you get when you have 'Crunchy' and 'Roll' you get a 'Crunchyroll' however you got yourself crunch-a-roll of flavors!" Esai's mother laughs at Leo's cringy joke which Esai will let slide since it is his birthday plus, he made his mother laugh is a bonus.  Leo gets bashful whenever he gets around Esai's mother. 
Isaac comments about Leo's latest joke "Wow, he got a laugh from your mother which is an unusual occasion." As Esai smiled lightly to his friend "Well I don't mind as much right now since this is a special day and I am eleven years old almost there to be a pre-teen then we are heading to middle school." Isaac chides coolly at him "Hold on sec, my birthday was last week as well do forget that you still owe me some credit on a new game that I am saving up to get." Esai rolled his eyes a bit "I had not forgotten about it Isaac, you're just mad that you missed that last copy that was an exclusive expansive pack gotten sold over a week ago."
 Isaac snarks at Esai "Hmph, if you were going to be like that I might as well open that exclusive code of a certain series that you've been dying to play Fatal Fire III that you've been waiting for two years to get." Esai couldn't contain the shocked expression on his face "What that game is hard to find on the market to trade even that been sold out for weeks for a digital copy. How to manage to get that!?" Isaac has Esai complete attention as he smirks "I was in a competition with my online friends when playing Gear-F II to get an exclusive code containing that game that I had to beat in the strategy puzzle that was supposedly unbreakable to go through. I found a fatal weakness to this team defense thinking that no one would know because they constantly give an illusion unpredictable attack. Its turnout was a glitch that I passed through and won the battle. Thus, having the code." Esai placed his hand on the head "What, you beat that world hardest battle strategy in the world by exploiting the glitch in the system!?" Isaac smiles smugly as he waves his holo-device containing the code. Esai's dad asked him to say a prayer for the food. After a brief prayer everyone formed a line and selected the food, they took it on the plate.
After socializing for one full hour they went to do some activities. They did some dominos game that his mother manages to win every time no matter what hands Esai had. She would have managed to play it right. His mother has an unbeatable streak when it comes to games that she would rub it in their faces. "Sheesh, mom would you simmer it down!" as often Esai would say to her. 
Eventually it was time for the cake and sing happy birthday to Esai, as everyone gathered round as he sat in the middle of the table where the cake is, and candles are lit. His mother is smiling warmly as she was singing. His mother seems to stumble a bit after Esai blew out the candles. He was concerned because his mother looked sickly pale "Mom, are you alright?" Mother tries to shake off the feeling of  being sick "A slight migraine nothing to worry about—" Then she collapsed suddenly to the floor as Esai screamed "MOM!" his dad rushes to mother to check her temperature as he gasped "She is cold as ice, call the ambulance now!" No time for hesitation Esai speeded dialed the emergency number on his holo-device as the operator responded "What is your emergency?"

A disgraced Messenger is going be replace by his own son named Esai Kinzuma who does not know his own calling yet. While there a mother and daughter named Somu Kio who constantly have their disagreements but had to follow rules to survive from insidious Darkbringers. However, all that will change when an individual named Taru Ven who had begun his conquest to rule all the Factions in the universe and find the remaining Factions who are: Spirit Sensitives, Lenios, and Observers. What is meaning of destiny if one does not know it as there a saying "Many are called but few are chosen" find out about how Esai and Somu meet their destinies.

My eyes moved warily from Ji-Hun to the tripods in front of us. We were paired for physics class, and at the moment I was watching him tie the string containing the pendulum ball to the edge of both stands.

"How long is the distance between the tripods supposed to be?"

"Thirty-five centimeters," I answered, looking down at the piece of paper we'd used to jot down our reading. We were halfway through the experiment and we would probably way ahead of the rest of the class. I watched Ji-Hun adjust the length as he did a quick measurement with the meter rule before dropping it on the table's surface and taking a hold of the suspended pendulum ball.

"Okay then," he started, making me pick up the stopwatch. He counted down, releasing the pendulum ball at three as I started the timer. I watched him count each back and forth motion, stopping the timer when he said twenty.

"23.43 seconds," I muttered, watching Ji-Hun nod in approval before he scribbled down on his sheet.

We finished ahead of the class as I assumed, drawing up our graphs before sitting idling and talking about nothing in particular.

"Hurry up. Ji-Hun and Wyatt are already done," our physics teacher, Mr. Philip said as he clapped his hands together as he strolled about the lab. Some partners threw us curious looks after his statement, before turning their focus back to their experiments.

"Let me see your graphs," I heard Mr. Philip say, turning to find him walking up to our table. He hummed when he got to us, pointing at Ji-Hun's graph sheet.

"Change your scale, it's too far apart," he said, pointing at the numbers on Ji-Hun's work. He looked up, before turning his attention to mine. "Take a look at Wyatt's," he said, standing up straight before walking away to another table. I watched Ji-Hun's gaze move to my paper, examining it for a bit before he reached out to grab it.

"You didn't even ask—"

"Oh shut up," Ji-Hun chuckled, cutting me off halfway. I cast a glare his way but he just laughed, making the side of my lips curve upwards in a smile. Why couldn't I stay mad at him?

I watched him look through my graph, creating a similar scale on his own graph sheet with a pencil before returning it to me.

The class ended soon after, and we then headed to the study room to meet up with Aiyana. Ben was probably there already since he went straight to the study room without changing his books at his locker. We still had our critical thinking project to work on, and Aiyana had been insistent on working on it today.

We spotted them at the far end of the study room when we walked in. As we approached them I noticed that Aiyana was working on a word document on her laptop while Ben was trying to create a slide.

We headed to the table, taking the empty seats. Ji-Hun sat close to Ben, watching him make the slide, while I helped Aiyana prepare the report since I was the one that sourced out the references she was using.

Thirty minutes in and we started to get bored. Aiyana abandoned the word document to mess with her phone underneath the table, while Ji-Hun and Ben were focused on the laptop in front of them, and I was sure they'd abandoned the slide a long time ago.

Unlike the librarian, the lady that handled the study room wasn't strict. She usually spent her time watching videos online or playing a puzzle game on her phone. She didn't pay attention to any of us, and I doubt she knew any of our names even though she'd been an employee here for over a year.

"What are you guys doing?" I finally asked, drumming my fingers on the table to catch both Ben and Ji-Hun's attention. Ben looked up at me before turning his laptop a bit so I could see the screen. I rolled my eyes at the sight of the fantasy character displayed on the screen. They were playing that virtual world game again, weren't they?

"Don't do that, it's actually fun," Ji-Hun said, making me let out an unconvinced hum.

"Don't pay him any attention. He barely has social media, what makes you think he'll play a social game?" Ben asked. I sent a glare his way. I guess I looked funny since we all burst into hushed laughter. Aiyana raised her head from the table to look at us, clearly confused as to why we were laughing.

"What's happening?" she asked, placing her phone on the table's wooden surface.

"Don't worry, you won't understand," Ben said, waving her off.

"No, I want to talk to you guys," Aiyana insisted, folding her hands over her small chest. She looked from one person to the other before her gaze landed on me. "Let's talk about something else then."

Ben shrugged at her suggestion, turning his laptop back to himself. "Sure, if you have anything to talk about."

I watched as Aiyana's face lit up like a light bulb, her lips widening until she was grinning fully. "Well, Wyatt has a crush—"

"Shut up!" I cut in, pushing Aiyana's shoulder roughly. She whined, rubbing her nonexistent bruise before throwing a glare my way.

"I was just joking, sheesh," she mumbled with a frown. I gave her a look over before returning my gaze to the book I'd opened a while ago in an attempt to read.

"I was actually scared," Ben laughed, making me look towards him.

"Shut up," I spat as Ben tried to hold his laughter in with his left hand. I looked over to Ji-Hun, my face flushing as I found him staring straight at me. He didn't seem as amused as the rest. His lips curled into a small smile when he realized I was looking at him before he returned his attention back to the screen of Ben's computer.

I felt my stomach sink a little. I just hoped he wasn't assuming anything — not like there was anything to assume that is.

The rest of the study period went by quickly, and we left immediately the siren went off. The rest of the school hours went by just as fast, and the four of us decided to walk home together when we met each other in the hallway after the last bell.

I walked in front with Aiyana, while Ji-Hun and Ben lagged behind us as they discussed the game they were playing earlier today. Ji-Hun didn't sound as enthusiastic as Ben, his voice was low, and he was more or less just listening to Ben talk. I found myself wondering if it had anything to do with what Aiyana said, but I shook my head, deciding it was a ridiculous assumption.

Ben and Aiyana soon stopped at their respective junctions, leaving Ji-Hun and me to continue on our own.

We walked silently side by side for a while before Ji-Hun spoke up.

"Was what Aiyana saying true...? I mean, do you like someone?" he asked, making me turn to look at him. He had his head hanging low, watching his feet trek on the pavement. I looked away from him, concentrating my gaze on the path up ahead of us. The street was silent, and the sun painted the whole scenery in a tones orange color as the sun made preparations to set.

"No," I found myself mumbling. It came out quiet — dragged, like I wasn't sure of what I was saying.

"Oh," I heard Ji-Hun mutter, I turned to find him looking up at me, not failing to see the small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah, Aiyana just likes to terrorize me." I shrugged, making Ji-Hun fall into a fit of chuckles.

I tried to keep my mind from wondering why he sounded so relieved. Did he think it was him? The thought alone was embarrassing.

"Hey," he muttered, bringing me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at him, watching him give me a small smile. "Are you free after school tomorrow? I was wondering if we could go to the arcade together."

I looked down at the floor, not knowing what to say.

"I've not been there before," he added hurriedly after my elongated period of silence. "I was just wondering if you'd go with me — you know, since you've been living here for a while and you've probably been there before..."

"Okay, I'm free," I muttered, uncomfortable with how uneasy Ji-Hun sounded.

"Err... after school then. I'm really sorry if it's a bother," Ji-Hun stuttered under his voice as he ran a hand through his dark hair. His voice was a lot more tense than usual.

"It's not a bother," I said in assurance, looking towards him to find his face fixed in a tensed expression. He nodded, looking at anything but me as his fingers tightened and loosened their hold on the straps on his backpack.

That's weird. I thought, looking away from him. I looked up ahead, noticing that we were soon nearing his stop.

He was about to turn at his stop when I took a hold of his hand to stop him. He paused, turning to look down at our hands with a surprised expression. I felt my face warm up as I muttered an inaudible apology before letting go of his hand.

"I just wanted to say that hanging out with you won't be a bother. I'm just - I was just shocked when you asked, that's all. That's why I didn't answer you immediately," I explained, looking straight at him. I watched his uneasiness from before disperse a little. He was still avoiding looking at me full on, but he'd stopped fidgeting.

I'd never seen Ji-Hun act this way. It was odd.

"Oh," he muttered before looking straight at me, finally. "I don't just want to bother you—"

"You're not bothering me," I said, cutting in.

I watched him nod, adjusting his hold on his bag. "Well, see you later then."

"See you too," I said in response, watching him walk away. He paused awkwardly, turning to wave my way. I returned the wave, watching as he walked away until he disappeared out of sight.

I smiled, before continuing on my way home.

The Prodigy Series is a collection of 10 books that follow 10 gay couples over 10 years. Each book/Volume features a different couple. 

[Book 1/Volume 1 - The Genius]

Wyatt Wilson has always been at the top of his grade. He's winning every quiz, debate and academic Olympic under the sun. His teachers adore him, his mates envy him and everyone generally thinks his parents are genuinely proud of him. But that's not the Wilson household for you. Meet the Wilsons, a family of seemingly generational artists. Wyatt's parents aren't interested in grades and scholarships; they're interested in art contests, exhibitions and art style. Every Wilson can create art - except for Wyatt. 
  
 As Wyatt struggles with being accepted at home, a new threat in form of a foreign exchange student threatens to take his place at the top of the class. Can Wyatt cope with losing the one thing that makes him relevant?

[Book 2/Volume 2 - The Tech Wiz]

Benjamin Maxwell is a Tech Wiz. He brings crashed computers back to life, gives gadgets whole new operating systems, recovers long lost data, and hacks into secure networks without even breaking a sweat.

Benjamin Already knows he has a secure place in his dad's tech repair shop after he graduates from high school. But what happens when Felix, a senior Ben has been crushing on since he got into high school asks him to join a young inventors contest as his partner?

Will Benjamin realize his talent is worth much more than he's been giving it credit for?

[Book 3/Volume 3 - The Artist]

Caleb is an artist, he's a master in every possible medium, and nothing less was expected from him as a Wilson, an extended family of high aspiring artists. Caleb enjoys creating art, but he doesn't enjoy the pressure that comes with it, and the expectations his parents weigh on him. 

Creating art slowly became a chore, and Caleb lost the spark that made his work shine, but things change when he meets Toby, a new teacher fresh out of college in his high school's art department. Toby helps him rediscover his love for art, and Caleb comes to a realization that his feelings for Toby were starting to head towards an irreversible direction.

roll the ball slide puzzle novel

Slide book

Larry Bottem and the Sorcerer's Scone

Five Frozen Centuries

The Cave's Voice

Life as a system

Caller's Spring

The Ranch

It hurts when you fall from heaven

The Rise of the Messenger

The Prodigy Series

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