A/N: Chapter 10 of Lost Sky. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my OCs. Tower of God belongs to the rightful owners.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Season 1: Episode 10
2nd Test room...
"Nice to meet you, Regulars." The yellow-haired man spoke, giving us a small bow. "I am Han Sung Yu, your next test administrator. Usually I'm just a test supervisor on Evankhell's floor."
"Nice to meet you too." I said kindly in return while Khun stood silently next to me.
"But this time, I will be in charge of this test directly." Han Sung continued. "This time, the test is simple. Do you see all these doors behind me?" He gestured to the structures towering behind him with the wave of a hand. "Within 10 minutes...find the real door and open it."
"Huh? Find the real door?" Khun frowned, looking at the test administrator with a raised eyebrow. "Among all those?"
"Yes." Han Sung replied calmly as if his instructions were that easy to follow. "Isn't it really simple? Here are 12 doors in total. Among them, find the 'real door' that will take you outside. If you find the real door and open it, you will pass this test. However, if you don't find the door in 10 minutes and give up, you'll fail. If you open the wrong door within the 10 minutes, you'll die."
"Huh?!" I stared at him with an open mouth. "D-Did you say...we'll d-die?!"
The scream...That we heard outside the room... "Then—What is the secret to finding the real door?" Khun asked. "Can you show it to us?"
"There aren't anymore hints." Han Sung stated with a grin on his face.
"W-What?!" The blue-haired boy exclaimed in shock. "How can we find the real door without any hints?!"
"Hey you!" Rak finally spoke up. "Are you nuts!? What can we do without any information?"
"Yeah!" Khun agreed with his teammate for once. "That's unfair! Why are all the tests like this?"
"Well, then..." Han Sung calmly poured himself a small cup of tea, ignoring the voices that were currently yapping at him. "The test begins."
"Argh! Gosh!" Rak spat with fury, stomping his foot against the tile flooring. "I'm not taking the test any more! It's annoying!"
"Damn...now what?" Khun made a clicking sound with his tongue in displeasure. "How can we find the real door without any information?" No...let me think again. It's a test.
"Feel my rage!"
"Please calm down Mr. Rak." I shouted in the background as the giant warrior spewed angry flames out of his mouth. "Don't let your fury take over your rational thinking!"
They can't have us choose a door without any hints...There are 12 doors and there's a 10 minute time limit. Khun's eyes swept across the possible options carefully as the gears within his mind whirled with thoughts. There is one 'Real door' among those that will lead us out. If we can't find the door in 10 minutes, we're dead. If we choose the wrong door we're all dead.
"ROARRRRRRRR!"
"MR. RAK!"
He made it clear that there are no more hints. Which means he already gave us some sort of hint before that...Khun pondered as he thought about the situation. What was that hint? He glanced up at the test administrator who was busy doing something else, swiping off some imaginary dust from his sleeves. He only told us the 'time limit'. Can it be-that the hint hidden...not in his words, but in this place itself? But there are no such hints...
CLICK~
"Huff- huff- huff- I'm done." Rak exclaimed as his rage and temperament finally cool down.
A clock? Khun stared at the object with wide eyes, ignoring us for the moment. Something had pulled at his subconscious, forcing him to look behind his shoulder and he found the object attached to the wall.
This time...Han Sung smiled with amusement as he focused his eyes on Khun's back. There is a smart one. But...I'm sorry to tell you this. This test can't be completed with a brain alone.
Clock...Khun continued to stare in wonder. Why is there a clock? The Pocket works as a timer...And besides, except for his belongings and the door, the only thing left in this room is that clock.
"The team that didn't scream passed the test in 4 or 5 minutes!" Mr. Neonbag's words floated through his mind when the weird being stopped us just outside the testing room. "But the teams who passed the time limit- 'all screamed'!"
Is the time...really the hint, as that guy said?
"No matter what test is carried out in there, it should be done within 5 minutes."
No...I shouldn't be blinded by his words. Khun shook his head to get rid of any lingering thoughts pertaining to Mr. Neonbag. The time limit is 10 minutes. It makes no sense to finish the test in 5 minutes. However...the existence of that clock does bother me...Now we have around 7 minutes left...He glanced at his Pocket to check the time. So if he was right we have two...no, I shouldn't think of his words.
TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~
Don't trust anyone. They were just his words. Khun berated himself as the timer continued to flow, staring at the clock in hopes that the answer would come to him. Sweat started to roll down his face as he continued to stare. Think. Where is the hint? Where? I'm sure I can find it. The best way. Don't trust anybody. Wrong choice, and we all pay the punishment with our very lives.
TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~TIK~ TOK~ TIK~ TOK~
Think thoroughly. Where is the hint? Clock. No. Words and strange voices bombarded the blue-haired boy as he continued to gaze at the object with a calm gaze. Don't trust anyone. But where to search?
"Argh, Rak! What are you doing?!" I yelped.
"Don't you see?" He snapped at me, lumbering up to the nearest door possible. "I'm opening the door!"
"W-Wait! S-Stop!" It was too late and in one fluid motion, Rak opened a door...with a strong kick. The flash of red light caught Khun's attention and he turned to see that a door had been opened.
That crocodile...! What has he done?! "You damn fool!" Khun shouted at him with horror. "What are you doing? Why did you open the door?"
"What?" Rak questioned as he looked at Khun with a glint in his eye. "There are no hints. Therefore isn't it obvious...just to guess?"
We...We're doomed now. Khun thought as all sorts of colorful words that shouldn't be said crossed his mind. He couldn't help but become angry with his teammate. "Why did you guess by yourself?! You idiot!"
"Then, what would you have done?" Rak barked back. "Did you have a better idea? There were no hints, anyway! So, what the heck? If there was no choice other than guessing, why not do it fast?"
"There could've been a hint!" Khun argued hotly.
"So did you find it?" Rak asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he started at the boy. "Did ya?"
"Well, not yet, but..."
"That yellow turtle said there aren't any more!"
"So...!"
CLAP~ CLAP~ CLAP~ CLAP~ CLAP~ CLAP~ The two arguing boys ceased their banter to look at Han Sung who stood up, clapping his hands for us. Even I stared at him with confused eyes. Once he stopped, he glanced at all of us with a smile.
"Congratulations." He told us. "You all, passed the test." That statement left us speechless as our minds refused to register what had just left his mouth.
"Passed!?" Khun was the first to recover his voice as he stared at the administrator. "What do you mean...!"
"Why? Aren't you pleased?" Han Sung questioned.
"I am...it's not that but...!"
"To pass this test, you just had to open any door within 5 minutes." The test administrator explained. "You guys opened a door within 5 minutes, therefore you passed."
In 5 minutes...what the hell...I can't accept this..."What can you evaluate in a test like this?!" Khun roared, gritting his teeth together in fury. "You gave us no clues and you say opening the door in 5 minutes is the way to pass the test?!"
"Mr. Khun, we did give you hints." Han Sung spoke, getting a shocked expression on the boy's face. "It's just that 'you didn't trust them'."
….What?! He stared at the test administrator in confusion.
"I knew you would be like that. Khun Aguero Agnes." Han Sung said with a small smirk. "One of the 'abandoned sons' who were kicked out after the fight of the Khun family."
"...what does he mean by that?" I whispered to Rak as we watched the two of them interact.
"Who cares..." Rak grumbled, using one of his claws to pick at his ears. "I'm getting a hernia just staying in this room for this long so they better wrap it up."
"You can't do anything without assurances." Han Sung noticed the grimace on Khun's face when his family's name entered the conversation but proceeded to speak. "You can never open a door if you're not certain of success. However, Mr. Khun, the world never waits for you to choose an answer. These numerous doors which were correct, will turn into doors of death after a few seconds. You need teammates around you...who are intuitive and daring to open the door."
"Oooh! It looks like they're almost done." I mused.
"Good riddance." Rak commented.
"You've got good teammates to go up with." Han Sung praised Khun, giving him a half bow as he walked back to our side. "Congratulations. The test is over so let's say goodbye now. I hope to see you on a higher place. Son of Khun."
"...Tch." Khun spoke and the three of us strode towards the opening, eager to reach the next level.
"And one more thing, Mr. Khun." Han Sung spoke, causing him to pause mid-step. "Your bag looks heavy, huh?"
…...That sly bastard...The blue-haired boy didn't respond but walked forward, allowing the light to swallow him. I glanced at him when he appeared by our side and noticed that he had some kind of grim expression set, like something bothered him.
"Ahahaha! How was my guess?!" Rak laughed with glee, acting smug cause he knew that without him, we'd all be dead. "You stupid turtles can't do anything without the great Rak! I felt it as soon as I got there that we would have to open a door in 5 minutes!"
We know you just guessed...Khun commented grudgingly on the inside, tightening his grip on his briefcase.
"Well now! I changed my mind! You poor saps!" Rak proclaimed boldly. "I declare myself the leader of this group and will accept you as my men!"
No way. Khun refused right then and there before releasing a sigh. I can't and won't accept that!
I wonder how the others went. Did they manage to pass the test as well? I wondered but smiled as I watched my two teammates bicker back and forth again. It would seem that the other teams that came after us each had members that possessed unique qualities, thus driving them up to the next floor.
After the test...
"The test is over, Mr. Han Sung." The test administrator glanced up to see Mr. Neonbag standing before him with his two teammates. "As you asked, I gave out the hints for the answer while pretending to be a Regular."
"Oh, nice job." He praised his double agent with a smile. "Now go and take a break."
"Umm...may I ask you something? I don't really get this...why did you tell me to give out hints to the Regulars? The hints were already there." Mr. Neonbag commented.
"Oh, that's true." Han Sung agreed as he glanced at the dark brown liquid in his cup. "But was the hint...the hint that you gave them, really accepted as a 'hint' by all of them?"
"...huh?" Mr. Neonbag tilted his head to the side in curiosity, prompting the test administrator to explain the qualities he perceived of individual members from all sorts of teams during the test.
"The smart untrusting ones were supposed to fail the test because of the hint." He said, referring to Khun. "He almost got to the answer, but he rejected it cause he doesn't trust anybody. His teammate with pure courage saved him. A person with faith in nothing but his God was saved because of that faith, and the person who was annoyed by thinking was saved because he was annoyed."
Ooh...I see...
"The one who listens to others and doesn't hesitate to choose, found all the evidence according to the hints and got to the answer." Han Sung smiled when he remembered Lee Soo's incredible deductive and reasoning skills to figure out the solution. "If we assume the hint you gave them is like this cup of tea, did the tea turn out to be a medicinal tea for all of them?"
"...huh? Tea?"
"For some, it functioned like medicine, but for some it was a poison." Han Sung explained. "And even if it was a medicine, if they didn't have the courage to swallow it, were they still able to pass the test? Essentially, it was impossible from the start to deduct whether that tea was poisoned or not. They could draw the truth that it is a good one with the hints and what I told them, but there was only one way to prove that."
"But..."
"The only definite way..." Han Sung moved the cup towards his lips, enjoying the smell of the aroma that filtered out from the liquid. "...to find out, was the drink the tea itself."
"I'm not sure what you think we are but...that's coffee...Instant coffee..." Mr. Neonbag commented dryly.
"Shut up." Han Sung frowned as he took a sip. "Instant Coffee is the best!"
2nd Floor- Han Sung's Test clear