2024-01-10 00:23:27As I walked down the path laid out before my eyes, along with several other students, I grinned ever so brightly.
I had only dreamt of this day, but I never thought I would actually be accepted.
‘The best chance to turn everything around… the best institute for learning that can guarantee me a better life…'
“Tch! To think nobody like you got in as well.”
Zane walks out from behind me, and I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed, I didn't think he had anything in that head of his.
I chuckle, tapping him lightly on the shoulder, “I’m surprised they now admit failures, this is a real shocker don't you think.”
“Hey!”
His eyes are glaring at me with death threats, his fist tightly clenched, but all his actions were nothing if he couldn't do them.
We were being watched, there was no way he'd be glad to return back to that hell.
“You should be careful Zane, you're in Division one, who knows, they might get fed up with you and send you back.”
That said I proceed inside the building, allowing him to process his thoughts.
As my eyes beheld the towering building and vast compound, I grew even more excited and determined. This was it!
‘… The Academy of my dreams!’
I can hardly sleep a wink, the anxiety of my first day in school had gotten the best of me that I couldn't wait for tomorrow.
~yawn~
Or so I thought.
****
"Ugh!”
It hurts! A sharp pain was the first thing that came to memory.
“My head…”
I woke up with a splitting headache, one that felt like my brains were about to explode.
"Where the hell am I?" I asked myself as I looked around the unfamiliar room.
I was sure I made it to my dorm yesterday—the dorm of the Elites—and it looked nothing like this white room.
"You're awake."
With shock, I sprang from my position and turned towards the speaker.
A teenager around my age, comfortably relaxed on his bed as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Who are you?” I asked, approaching him with caution.
"Your roommate." He answered as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.
"Congratulations, you've been out for almost two hours."
‘Two hours?! I don't nap that long, wait, what exactly is the time?’ My head frantically bobbed as I took a good look around me.
That was when I noticed…
‘… This isn't my uniform.’
What was going on?
"Wait, why have my clothes changed and how did I get here?" I asked curiously.
"You're asking me, I got here the same way you did.” My ‘roommate’ said, with a scoff.
‘What in the—?!’
"Ladies and gentlemen!” A loud voice suddenly boomed, nearly throwing me off balance.
I frantically looked around the room and, other than me and my newly made acquaintance, it didn't hold another soul.
‘Oh, wait, there are speakers in the room…'
As I was still pulling my thoughts together, the voice continued in a calm stride.
"Please head out to the dining hall with order. Be careful, and don't rush."
At the sound of an alarm, the door unlocked and was slowly opened.
It felt like we were being watched.
I looked around, unable to find any hidden cameras, yet, I could not shake off my ominous feeling.
‘’I should be careful…'
My roommate and I walked out, unsure where we were going.
We were met with a vast hallway, a seemingly endless corridor.
Suddenly there was a holographic symbol, showing us symbols and arrows for directions.
Apparently, our destination was the dining hall.
Upon making our last turn, we arrived at the appointed area, and it sure was a dining hall—just as the instructions stated.
The chairs and long table were nearly arranged to give off an ambiance of class and dignity. If I wasn’t in my current predicament, perhaps I would appreciate the sight a bit more.
However, more than the luxurious hall, I saw something else that made my eyes widen in surprise—and relief.
There's thirty of us, some whom I recognized as fellow Elites, littered the hall, donning nearly the same expression as me.
Everyone looked confused as they murmured in awe.
"Does anyone know how we got here?" Some voiced out, while others made careful observations.
One of the very calm students was a guy my age, with dark hair and a tall height.
His eyes never left the surroundings, every bit of the room was being scanned by him.
"We're wondering the same thing."
The rest replied in equal confusion.
"What the hell is going on…?!"
>Clack!<
>Clack!!<
>Clack!!!<
All eyes moved upwards at the sudden sound that temporarily distracted us from basking in our confused state.
A man looked down at us from an elevated platform. A staircase was arranged to reach it, but he seemed visibly out of reach.
‘Hold on, that man looks familiar…'
"HEADMASTER!!!”
With the roar of the students, I confirmed my suspicion.
‘At least we're saved, so long as the headmaster is here, it means we're in good hands…'
I was certain this sentiment was shared by many of us.
‘Phew! Can’t believe I got worked up there for a sec…'
"Welcome, students." The headmaster greeted the relieved faces that stared at him.
‘Hm?’
"Be grateful, for you have been chosen to participate in the one activity that will determine your worth…”
‘Something is off…'
“Your education and etiquettes will be taught separately from the rest of the students…”
‘… Why is he…?’
“You will participate in chosen challenges to build your combat, psychology, resistance and more…”
‘…. What is he talking about?’
“… So, students, welcome to the Elite game!" His voice boomed with a tone of finality.
‘Wait what?!’
An Elite game?
‘I'm pretty sure that part wasn't included in the school's handout…’
“And it’s a game?” My lips parted as I formed a whisper.
‘Aren’t we supposed to be learning or something. Could this be an extra activity?’
My mind told me that was false. Something had to be up…
‘Perhaps, it's a test?’
I knew better than that, but…
‘Yes, let's call it that! Just a test!’
... Whatever this game was…
‘… I have to win!’
But I was too naive then to know what lurks behind closed doors.
Little did I—no, everyone—know, this was a far more intricate and deadly event that exceeded all the bounds of common sense and logic.
It was the start of something… utterly sinister.
Still, though, my motive from the start never changed.
To survive, there was only one condition.
I had to stay alive first.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 138. Escaped Helpers.
"We're not your enemies. We're students, too. We escaped the school just like you." I hesitated, my grip loosening. "Prove it," I demanded. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" At last they took off the mask from their faces, they looked nothing older than eighteen at most, but I wasn't going to be fooled, definitely not by their appearance especially. We pointed the guns at them, cold sweat dripped all over my face but that wasn't enough to make me tremble, at least I wouldn't allow myself to fall victim to such trickery. “No problem, no problem, I'll prove it, I'll show you that we mean no harm I swear,” the female of the group yelled. “Please, just back off with the gun a bit, that thing's dangerous and I doubt you even know how to hold them properly which makes it more dangerous.” Was she mocking us or what? I couldn't make due with it. I took a quick look at her and her colleagues behind us. They didn't seem to have any sort of weapon on them and they didn't retali
Chapter 139. Defiance.
I could hardly believe my eyes at first, but that was the honest truth apparently, and just like that, we had finally escaped the school, but freedom felt like a distant memory as we trudged through the arid landscape. Where we would go from here, that was the next question. Amid the celebration and excitement from my classmates I looked around, something didn't feel right, not in the slightest, but what was it? Suddenly, it occurred to me to look ahead as if I surveyed the land. "Does anyone have a binocular?" I asked. "A binoculars? I think I got one while we were escaping, it was amongst the staff gadgets," someone said. At once it struck me. Why exactly would they need such in the first place? The more I puzzled about this uneasy feeling the more restless I felt. The girl handed over the device with a bothered look on her face. I grabbed hold of the device and peered through. Scanning- Scanning- The coast looked clear, crystal clear however, what was this cloud of dus
Chapter 138. Break The Illusion.
(Diego's POV)I dart through the shifting corridors of the maze, my heart pounding in my chest as I try not to lose sight of the others. The disorienting twists and turns of this twisted landscape make it difficult to keep my bearings.And I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on going.As I watch my classmates struggle to cross the swaying platforms, a seed of doubt begins to take root in my mind. Something about this whole scenario doesn't feel right. The way the walls shift and the floors move - it's almost as if it's an illusion, a trick of the mind.I take a step back, studying the maze around us more closely. The patterns on the walls seem to shimmer and distort, and the very air feels charged with an unnatural energy. Narrowing my eyes, I focus my senses, trying to pierce through the deception.Suddenly, a flicker of movement catches my eye, and I whirl around to see a shimmering figure in the distance. It's the teacher, I'm sure of it. A wild surge of anger rises within me
Chapter 137. Space Manipulation.
(Ande's POV)We wait patiently for Ethan in the game room, the few of us that are still free, trying to cross check if we have everything. It was almost….. peaceful.Alas, things were not meant to be, as the world around us suddenly shifts and distorts.I grip the railing as the building contorts before my eyes, the once familiar corridors and classrooms twisting and distorting like a kaleidoscope. The floors seem to shift beneath my feet, and I struggle to maintain my balance as the world around me turns upside down. "What's happening?" I shout, my voice laced with panic as I glance at my teammates. Ava clings to the wall, her eyes wide with terror, while Chris braces himself against a doorframe, his knuckles turning white.A sinister chuckle echoes through the disorienting space, and I feel a chill run down my spine. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily?" The teacher's voice, dripping with malice, surrounds us.I whirl around, searching for the source of the sound.
Chapter 136. Divide Map.
(Ande's POV)After washing out the blood from my clothes, I looked down with a heavy sigh of disbelief, I could not believe that this was what I had been reduced to. A monster, perhaps. "We have to go," Chris said to me, his hand upon my shoulder. Yes, there was somewhere we had to be and I refused to let anything come in the way of my freedom, not even myself. Chris and I rejoin the others. The students from the lab are gathered, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and anticipation. They couldn't possibly reject me and I knew that, I was one of them and they were just like me, we had the same substance or whatever it was that was put in me running through their veins, they couldn't possibly bail on me. "Ande," one of them says, her voice tinged with relief. "We've been trying to make sense of what happened back there."As I explain what I found in the lab and the chip I retrieved, their expressions shift from confusion to horror."So they were trying to turn us into desti
Chapter 136. Hybrid Solutions..
(Ande's POV)I shake my head, refusing to believe what they're telling me. "No, I can't have done this. There must be some mistake." I couldn't accept that in the slightest bit, how could everything turn out this way, we had come so far and yet this was supposed to be the result?No, it couldn't possibly be this way. "Ande, listen to us," Ethan says, his tone urgent however I looked away from him, the last thing I wanted on my plate was someone to interfere with how I felt but he was persistent an attribute that I had hated for quite a while now. "We all felt... different, after what happened in the lab. And now, with what's happened here... we can't risk staying any longer. For our own safety, and for yours."I want to protest, to demand answers, but the fear in their eyes gives me pause. I took a deep sigh, surely this wasn't the end of everything, I knew there had to be some sort of way but the opportunity seemed difficult to come by. "I understand but I'm sure there's a cure
