20 minute survival. Every 2 minutes, a single Regular is to be sent in, for a total of 10. Once 20 minutes have passed, the contestants left standing are the winners. Any method is allowed to eliminate the rest of the contestants on the field and any Regulars deemed unable to continue are disqualified and removed. The order of entry is chosen randomly and there are no handicaps given based on the order of entry.
Ja Wangnan re-read the rules once more, making sure he got everything from the small metal plate that was screwed into the white wall. He patted his pocket, making sure that he got the emergency smoke bombs and Swiss Knife with him. They both seemed to be in place. Good, he thought. This time, I will definitely pass! If I fail here, it's all over... You can do it... Because you are the man that will become King!
Wangnan reflexively rubbed the bright red ring on his hand, thoughts of grandeur and glory clouding his mind for a moment. The sudden sound of the bell and the announcer's notice of his name and number were enough to drag him back into reality. Determined, he walked inside the oval white room, the three figures in it already taking away his confidence of a certain victory.
"Hm?" grumbled the tallest of the three, a tanned white haired man that held a red spear as big as he was. With a quick inspection on the new visitor, a big white grin took over his square face, his heavy footsteps background musictohis boast. "Fresh meat? And here we were worried about not eating enough breakfast." The laughter of the other two was his chorus. "Let's eat, yes boys?"
Wangnan swallowed a knot that had formed in his throat during the past few seconds. The black tie he had ironed this morning was suffocating him now, as he saw the red spear being raised to attack. The burns on his body would make it hard for him to run for too long if he decided to go down that road. Thus he had to play smart.
He remembered the horror movie he'd seen last night, the dramatization of Phantaminum's attack on the King's palace. He remembered more precisely the scene when the Riddle had raised his -in this movie- scythe, while letting a high-pitched harsh laugh echo in the bloody room, the laughing alone more than enough to frighten everyone to madness.
Would it work? Perhaps not. But it was worth a try.
He smiled as twistingly as he could, as he muttered "Finally." The spear bearer hesitated a bit, thinking his ears were tricking him. Wangnan repeated himself. "Finally..." And then over and over again, his voice becoming more crazy, more vicious, more...crazy. "Finally finally finally FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY! A GUY WITH SOME BALLS! DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING HARD IT IS TO FIND SOMEBODY BALLSY ENOUGH TO COME AGAINST ME?!" The spear bearer let the spear slip in his hand. He hated nutcases. Nutcases never went for quick kills, they always wanted to enjoy the kill and watch their victims suffer. He had seen it enough times already to know that he should be afraid. Every sane Regular learned to. Wangnan, however, didn't stop there. He had to finish this. "WILL YOU ENTERTAIN ME?! WILL YOU ENTERTAIN ME TILL YOU DIE?! WILL YA WILL YA WILL YA?!" His throat was becoming sorefrom the screaming. The Regular before him was shaking too much to notice it though, but Wangnan could still feel his will to put up a fight. He materialized two inventories full of his trademark bombs. There were quite a fewpeople who were willing to play kamikazi and were stupid enough to challenge monsters.
"GIVE ME A SHOW!" screamed Wangnan again." GIVE ME A SHOW TO DIE FOR!"
The tanned man's shaking stopped for a moment. Crap, thought Wangnan. Crap crap crap, I overdid it, I overdid it BIG time. I knew I shouldn't have quoted the movie! Now my 'guise is blown! He closed his eyes and waited for punishment. He had read his horoscope. Economic troubles with a high chance of sudden death. Well, that's good. I hate it when it's drawn-out too much.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!"
On the other hand, he might have been on the wrong page. ...Jackpot?
Dei Fabula- Chapter 1- The Strangest Tide
One and a half minutes...Good, I guess? Turning off the pocket's clock application -a Swiss Knife device of sorts, with its primary function being that of a omni-linquistic translator-, Wangnan got up from his spot and dusted his brown pants off. He blew some of his orange bangs out of his eyes, enduring with the annoyance of non-gel-dressed hair for one more day.
He stretched his legs a bit, strategies of how to subdue the next opponent filling his mind already. It was four people against one. No Regular on the 20th Floor could take on that many opponents, with the sole exception of Princesses. And the last one was ten floors above, according to the endless stack of magazines that featured his beloved Princess Androssi Zahard on them. But, one could never know what kind of monsters could go past the radar, so a team attack was most appropriate.
"Oi." he called out his newly aquired henchmen. The cloaked Wave Controller and the Fisherman stood immediately at attention, the Spear Bearer already in it.
"Y-YES!" they said in unison. He could really get used to the idea of having minions under his feet.
"The next guy that comes in...Go for a pincer." He commanded.
They were obviously questioning his plan, albeit how logical it was. "P-Pincer?" started the Wave Controller. His state of mild panic was clearly not letting him think properly, thus, Wangnan explained to him. "Pincer. We can't have too many Regulars on the test or else it will get uncomfortably hard. And I'm not in the mood to kill another room of boring Regulars again."
"A-A-As expected from Master Wangnan!"
Ding!
The four of them took battle positions, as the metal doors were sliding open. Even when they had fully opened themselves, the four could still not get a full view of the man. He had to duck to get past the opening, becoming scarier and scarier in the eyes of the four unfortunate contestants.
To Wangnan, there was only one available option.
"Wait." he told the other three. None of them lowered their weapons, but they were on standby.
Wangnan walked forward. He stood before the towering figure, his furry cloak and oversized red gauntlets making him look even bigger than he actually was. He had a wing made out of pure Shinsoo sticking out of his back, an accessory that looked awkward on the giant.
Silently gulping a knot on his throat, Wangnan said as cockily as he could master, "How about a deal?"
Horyang. Kang Horyang. That was the name of the man, as Wangnan unfortunately found out when the Teddy Bear -as he came to call him- patted his shoulder to apparently nail him in the ground. Even with the three idiots praising Wangnan for his wits and evilness, he could tell that the big guy had already figured everything out. Every now and then he would glance at the giant's way; Wangnan could see a small smirk battling its way on his face only to subdue itself in the end. To the other three, Horyang's face was outright stoic, even morbid.
But Wangnan's few years with his mother and her friend taught him otherwise.
He clenched his fist as tightly as he could, trying not to give away his anxiety and blow his cover. This was one of the situations where "the more the merrier" obviously did not apply.
The familiar 'ding' made him jump a bit, a scare he managed to cover by getting up. Along with him, so did the three Stooges.
"Same plan, Master Wangnan?" said the Fisherman.
"Unless they are useful." said Wangnan, as they were preparing themselves for a Pincer. Horyang, on the other hand, was trying not to chuckle at the man's desperate attempts to make himself look vicious and evil. "Shut up, I'm desperate." he mouthed to him. Shaking his head, Horyang sat a bit more comfortably and watched the four prepare to attack the monster that would come out of the door next. And as the doors opened...
"Oh. H-Hi!"
...A little girl came out. A girl in a school uniform, no less.
...It's decided. The administrators want me dead.
The three were ready to attack the little girl, but Wangnan's raised hand stopped them. They could get an easy kill out of this one, making their lives a little bit easier in this hellhole. Wangnan grinned a bit nervously at the three, before kneeling before the girl.
"Hello."
Ja Z. Wangnan, what in the Savior King's name is going through your freaking mind? He clutched his knees in frustration, letting his nails to pierce his skin. The little blood that trailed from it went mostly unnoticed. Nobody talked. Any of her attempts to talk with Wangnan were shot down by Wangnan's eyes, full of anger (at himself). In the silent room, the only noises were Miseng's -the little girl's- cellphone and Horyang's wing wavering every now and then. The Spear Bearer's gritting teeth were barely noticeable and so was his pacing. He was impatient, he wanted to stab something and soon. And Master Wangnan's eagerness to recruit rather than kill off every new contestant that walked through the door wasn't something he fathomed either. Wasn't he the one that didn't want the difficulty to get higher?
"Master Wangnan!" he said suddenly. "I do not understand!"
Wangnan glared at his way, the spearman's new found courage wavering a bit. "Master Wangnan..." he hesitated. "Why do we let this little girl be in the team with us? Look at her! She's begging to be disqualified! So why!"
"That's the point, you idiot!" He shouted. He got up and grabbed his white head and dragged him closer. He materialized his inventory of bombs and took out one of the Shinsoo Rapid Decompression (SRD) ones. "Pack her little back-pack with one of these babies and she will scatter a whole room of Regulars all over the place." he hissed. "All we have to do is feed her like a pig for slaughter. Understand? Hm?"
Nodding his head, the Spear Bearer moved as far away from him as he could. Who knows, maybe he would change his mind about it and use him instead. He could not risk it.
The Wave Controller, on the other hand, didn't seem that convinced from the plan. Sure, it was a brilliant plan for a psychopath that wanted it to rain blood, but it was a tiny bit too...organized.
He didn't seem that eager to get up when the familiar signal of the new Regular's arrival echoed in the room. He knew that Master Wangnan was going to somehow convince them that the new arrival was going to be essential to a master plan he would have.
The doors slid open. A woman with glasses came in, wearing normal clothes this time. She didn't look cute, she wasn't outstandingly beautiful, hell, she didn't even look useful. But he knew that he wouldn't attack her for a stupid reason.
"Hey, Goseng!"
"Miseng! Are you taking this test too?"
No, she's here for camping. Wangnan's raised hand halted the other two's fire. The new girl, Goseng, as the little one called her, sat between her and Horyang, the latter blushing madly at her sudden presence. They started chatting casually, each word only amplifying the Wave Controller's rage.
And thus, he had enough.
"THAT'S IT!" he shouted. "THAT'S FUCKING IT!"
Everybody in the room was right now staring at him, but he didn't give a damn. He started pacing up and down, his distress now visible to all of them. "THIS!" he started. "IS A FUCKING TEST! THIS IS A FUCKING TEST OF THE 20TH FLOOR, FOR FUCK'S SAKE AND YOU FUCKHEADS ARE GATHERING AS IF IT IS A FUCKING DINNER PARTY!"
Wangnan clenched his teeth and put his hands in his pockets. The Wave Controller's face, or at least the visible part of it, was red with rage. "AREN'T WE ALL COMPETITORS?! AREN'T WE SUPPOSED TO SLAUGHTER ONE ANOTHER SO WE CAN GET PAST THIS FUCKING TEST?! SO WHY THE FUCK ARE WE GATHERING A FUCKING TEAM OF FUCKING TREE FRIENDS?! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE DOWN THE OTHERS VIA TEAMWORK, NOT THIS SHIT!" said he, staring at the rest as they stood uneasily before him. "AREN'T WE?!"
Nobody seemed to be brave enough to tell him that that was indeed why they were all there.
"Um..." muttered Miseng. "The test only requires us to survive for 20 minutes...I'm sure that we can all-"
"Shut the FUCK up, little bitch!" He could no longer be reasoned with. He was out of his mind. "Shut the FUCK up! You see, this is the problem with these tests! There's always a little slut like you, getting lucky and carried up by friends she found, but when they all realize how fucking useless you really are, BOOM! HEADSHOT! They leave you on the 20th Floor and now we honest Regulars have to put up with you! All because of that FUCKING rotten mind of yours!"
Wangnan looked at Miseng's way. Her lips began to quiver violently. He could tell that she fought, for a short moment, to be strong, but eventually gave in. The crystal steam that flowed from her eyes was a sight he didn't like to watch, as the little girl crawled into a small ball and started crying out apologies. "I-I'm sorry..." she stuttered. "I'm sorry I'm weak...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Her cry quickly started to distort and muffle her apologies, making her all the more pitiable in his eyes. Goseng tried to calm her down.
"Who do you think you are?" she said angrily. "Shhh, don't cry, nobody blames you..."
The Wave Controller made his way to the two, a small room of Shinsoo ready to blast them away. "You shut up! AND STOP CRYING!" he shouted, but to no avail. "STOP FUCKING CRY-"
Boom.
Everything happened too fast. They never noticed when Horyang's winged hand grew in size to the point of it being the same size as he, they didn't notice when his gargantuan fist met the Wave Controller's body, they didn't even notice when the Wave Controller's spine broke on the impact of the concrete wall. As Horyang's fist shrunk back to its original size, the unconscious man was covered in a blue fire, before he disappeared from the Regulars' sight.
The Fisherman and Spear Bearer could only stare at the stoic man, now patting Miseng's back. "He was annoying." he explained.
Miseng however kept crying, her red cheeks covered in her many shedded tears. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry for being useless...Please don't throw me away..." she begged before wailing again in despair.
Don't throw me away... repeated Wangnan inside himself. He closed his eyes for a second, in his attempt to not join the girl in her grief. For a second, he was no longer in the oval room with the small crater on his left. He was not with the two shaking Regulars, the crying girl and the woman that comforted her, the enormous man. For a second, he was but a boy, holding a woman's hand as he cried too. The woman was trying to calm him down too.
"Nobody will throw you away..." whispered the woman to the boy. "And neither will you, my little King."
"Nobody will throw you away." whispered Wangnan.
Ding.
The next contenstant's arrival dragged Wangnan back to the oval room with the other contestants. He looked behind him, only to see a pale man with short silver hair. He was tall, biologically over thirty, if he was correct. But from his leather jacket with the furry hood to his army boots, to the small 'innocent' smile on his lips, everything spelled trouble from the new man.
"Quite a few have gathered here, yes?"
He reached the small group in hops, his right hand hanging out for a handshake. Wangnan accepted the hand, and to his surprise, it was a gentle grip. The man grabbed him with his other hand too. "Relax, don't be so stiff." He shook it and dragged Wangnan towards himself, his arm already around Wangnan's shoulders. "All we have to do is survive for, what, 20 minutes? There's no need to waste our strength over nothing. Don't you think so?"
Wangnan nodded. "Ah, I agree, I agree." He was positively surprised by the man's pacifism. Never judge a book from its cover, they say...I guess they are right. Something about the stranger though was putting Wangnan off a bit. He didn't know if it was the obvious smell of alcohol or his (overly) friendly stance. Wangnan couldn't quite put his finger on what though.
"But..." There we go. You see, this is why you shouldn't trust people with shaved heads. There's always a 'but' with these people. "Isn't this a tiny bit too many? We are going to be opponents anyway, so bringing this many along doesn't seem like a good idea, yes?"
Wangnan couldn't help but agree a bit with him. He shook his head a couple of times. "That's true, but-"
"So!" The silver haired man cut him off. "How about a little vote? It's okay, we aren't going to off somebody. If you declare that you forfeit the match, you are immediately transported out of the testing grounds. So, how about it? The three...Let's make it four people with the most votes get to hit it. Reasonable, yes?"
The two former henchmen muttered in agreement. They had already forgotten their allegiance with Master Wangnan. The idea that they could get rid of somebody without having to move a muscle wasn't that bad either.
The rest of the group, didn't seem that eager for the vote to begin. They all knew who the first obvious choice was going to be.
"Well." started the man. He looked at the candidates for a moment, before his eyes laid on the kid for a second. "I shall vote for...the kid."
Right as they all predicted. Wangnan stood a bit restlessly before he made his decision. He pointed at his choice. "Silver shit-head. One vote." he said. "If I'm going to drop anyone, I should drop the strong looking one first. What would you gain by dropping a kid anyway? Don't go around inciting problems and then back off, moron."
The predating yellow eyes of the man turned at him for a moment before he chuckled at defeat. He raised his hands, giving himself away to the authority of the vote. "Whatever. As you wish." he said mockingly. He was, admittedly, enjoying this. He looked over at the Spear Bearer and Fisherman, both standing at attention. "Silver shit-head!" they said in martial unison. "Two votes!" His scarred eyebrow twitched a bit. Seriously?
Seeing the girls were not that eager to participate in the vote, the man turned towards Horyang. "So...What do you vote, dear Teddy Bear of ours?"
Horyang got up, making everyone remember their smallness before him. The silver-haired man, however, didn't waver before his stature. On the contrary, he whistled in amusement.
"One vote...for each of you." declared Teddy.
Wangnan's head got a little numb from the sudden declaration. He could do that?
The silver haired man's laughter filled the room, but was cut short from the all-familiar ding. From the new door, a blond man walked out, the sight before him unpleasant beyond belief.
"Da hell is goin' on here? The number of Regulars in this room is too damn high!" he shouted to himself.
Most stared at him awkwardly. "Well..." The silver-haired man though? "This is getting out of hand."
He summoned his weapon, a pointy parasol that could with no doubt pierce steel and pointed it at the Fisherman. The tip shined blue, before a Shinsoo beam shot the man and sent him flying across the room. Akraptor leaped away from the group and stood straight, one hand in his pocket and the other pointing the umbrella towards Horyang, firing yet another beam. Horyang, however, simply ignored the beam that struck him.
Having essentially declared war against them, Horyang transformed his wing icon into that of a red fist, his right arm corresponding to the transformation and changing size accordingly. He grabbed the fleeing Spear bearer and hurled him towards the man, who ducked. His arm shrunk again and the icon on his back changed into a winged boot. With a sonic boom, he covered the distance between them, before his arm grew in size again and crushed his escape route as a warning. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, sorry." he apologized sarcastically. "I was aiming for the other guy, but my hand slipped. It was an accident."
Horyang was not amused however. He swung his buried hand towards the parasol wielder, the debris becoming an excellent weapon to hit the tall man. With a few leaps, though, he had escaped the avalanche of rocks, but was almost hit by the Spear Bearer's projectile spear. Obviously annoyed, he pointed his trusty parasol his way, the beam of shinsoo burying him in the wall. His trouble was not finished, however, as the Fisherman and newest Regular had reached him and were trying to pierce him, unsuccessfully, with their needles.
Wangnan could only stare at the scene that unfolded before him, the quick succession of events leaving him gagging like a fool. What the hell is this, a dog fight? No...No, this is good. he concluded. This is very good. This is in my favour. If they all eliminate one another I will be thankful to them.
Once again, Horyang grabbed the Spear Bearer and hurled him towards the dueling trio, much to the cannon fodder's discomfort. "DON'T USE A MOTHERFUCKER TO BEAT A MOTHERFUCKER, MOTHERFUCKER!" yelled the giant's victim just before colliding with the two needle users. Changing his wing into a boot again, Horyang reached and grabbed the moving Spear Bearer's leg, before slamming him on the ground like a rag doll. He would have slammed him again, weren't it for the Spear Bearer trying to stab him in the heart. With a swift change from a wing to a shield though, the spear broke on contract with Teddy's coat, not even tearing a hole in it.
Bing.
The silver haired man shot yet another beam at Horyang. "Sorry, my hand slipped." he said again. Fed up with him, Horyang let his arm grow and grabbed the lying Spear Bearer like a ball. The shirtless man already knew what was coming and closed his eyes, waiting for pain.
"Sorry, my hand slipped too!" said Horyang as he hurled the Spear Bearer at the parasol wielder. The Spear Bearer bounced too soon to impact with him, the supposed target laughing harshly at the man.
Goseng dragged Miseng closer to herself, praying that the fight of the five men wouldn't reach them in their non-existent shelter. Wangnan, on the other hand, was smiling more every second. Yes, yes, pulverize one another!
Ding.
What the- Oh yeah, there was supposed to be one more!
The fighting stopped almost as soon as the new person walked inside the room, the only sounds in the room being the newcomer's footsteps...and the occasional punch the Fisherman would receive from the last guy that had come. Even from this distance, Wangnan could tell that he was shorter than him, if only by a few centimeters. He looked frail, breakable. However, his black robes however gave off an air of superiority and danger, or at least the illusion of it. Like Wangnan, he too wore brown pants and black leather shoes.
He could not see his face, a helmet of black glass supported by a metallic base covering it, with but two orbs of golden light being where the eyes were supposed to.
The mask however was not what drew Wangnan's attention. It was his robes, or at least the insignia that was on them. This looks awfully familiar...
Wangnan, however, did not get enough time to inspect the mark any further, his attention being drawn to the masked man's voice surprisingly light voice. Even female.
"Is this is the 16th Testing area? I got a little bit lost, you see..." said the man.
"Oh, screw this..." If Wangnan didn't know any better, he would say that the parasol fighter was fed up with this entire gig. He pointed his unorthodox weapon at the man and shouted in frustration. "For the next five seconds, everybody, please, on that guy."
"Deal." they all said in unison and ran towards the masked man. It was five against one, one looking as if he could break like a twig in the hand of Horyang. It was total overkill. But something about the new man had Wangnan feel uneasy. Where have I seen that insignia before... he asked himself again. Three blood red circles over white and red eyes... Where...
The revelation struck him like lightning.
The five men had reached the new Regular, all ready to strike and finish him off. The silver haired man and Teddy, the main man of the show so far, had a small head start in comparison with the other three. The closer they got to their prey, though, the room was becoming more and more...quiet. It was a silence Wangnan was familiar with. It was the silence that was followed by an explosion's shockwave, the earth-shaking bang reaching your ears a few seconds too late.
Right before Horyang's gigantic fist and the parasol-man's parasol met with the man, the room had absolute silence. In Wangnan's eyes, the world was moving in slow motion, before finally stopping. Then he heard the man's voice again, like a distant echo.
"I suppose it is."
Wangnan closed his ears on instinct and took cover, an act both Miseng and Goseng copied. The ground shook below their knees and their shut ears could still catch a deafening "boom" of an explosion. Although there was no fire or the familiar flash of light, a shockwave hit the five assailantsand launched them into the walls. The center of the attack was no other than the new man, debris and dust now cloaking him in thriumph.
Wangnan looked at the five men. The three had already passed out and were teleported out of the test area, leaving only Horyang and the parasol man. The umbrella had cut their impact just enough for them to avoid disqualification.
Wangnan looked at the threat again. He had to act fast. He matterialized his inventory and grabbed the strongest SRD bomb in his possession and hammered it his way. The explosion's burst didn't even make him flinch though, but Wangnan prepared another bomb and hurled that too his way, the results being the same.
The man shook his head and started to slowly walk his way. He started singing a song, the explosion's sonic booms not diminishing his performance or progress a bit.
"...Révolution dans les rues..." Twenty steps away. "... Je vois le chaos en dessous..." Fifteen steps away, the bomb assault does nothing to stop him. "....
La justice est..." Ten steps. And all Wangnan could think was Not working! Not working! "...une rivière rouge." He was techincally before him. Wangnan had run out of his SRD bombs, leaving him with only his trick bombs and his gunpowder one. FINE, WHATEVER'S FINE! "Je te cherche..." Desperate, Wangnan hurled his last bomb at the predator. The explosion, unlike the rest of his bombs, was dirty. The debris greater than before and the smoke was burning his eyes. The man, however, was silent. ...Did...Did it work?
A hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed his shoulder gently. Wangnan, terrified, witnessed that the only thing that was damaged was his clothes. Only his clothes! He took a step back, the wall stopping him from running away. This was his end.
"Où es-tu?"
I guess it was right...Economic troubles with a high chance of sudden death. At least I won't become a skeleton at that creep's hands.
He closed his eyes and waited his end. Yet, in his final moments, all he could do was apologize to the one person he believed he failed the most.
Sorry...You'll see me unsuccessful...
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Wangnan was certain that, if anything, the afterlife was not supposed to sound like his trip to the dentist. He opened his golden eyes. He didn't see neither the white cloudy plains of heaven, nor the flaming desserts of hell. Nor the angels neither the devils. He was still inside the destroyed oval room, with the remaining contestants, all paying attention to the announcer.
"20 MINUTES HAVE PASSED! THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TEST IS OVER! THOSE REMAINING ON THE STAGE, PLEASE COME UP BY RIDING THE LIFT!"
His captor looked at him for a moment before letting him go. "What do you know, it's your lucky day!" he said cheerfully. He skipped to the elevator, hopping over the rocks and debris, before finally halting inside the metal chamber. The rest of the Regulars, however, did not move an inch.
And the elevator didn't look like it would move any time soon either.
"Well? Will you send him up already? We don't want to ride with this monster."
The announcer did not share the survivalistic views of the Regulars. With an instructing voice, he said through the speakers.
"ACCORDING TO PROTOCOL, ALL REMAINING PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE ELEVATOR, WANTING TO CONTINUE THE TEST OR NOT."
"Can't you do two rides or something? Look man, it's not like-"
"JUST GET IN THE EFFING ELEVATOR!"
"..."
They all, one by one, entered the lift reluctantly with the masked person. At least, everyone but Miseng. Unlike them, she entered the small metal box eagerly, dragging Goseng with as much liveliness.
The last to enter the elevator was Wangnan, who was still hesitating. Rolling his eyes though, he gave in the announcer's commands and he too was inside the elevator with the other five.
"Doooh...You do love me." said the masked man mockingly.
"Shut up and leave me be."
And with that, the doors closed, their lift moving them to their next destination and thus, their next test.
End of Chapter 1