Chapter 12: The Unyielding Shield

Chains shot out from the chair with a metallic clang, locking Ambrose's wrists and ankles in place. He didn't struggle. Instead, he closed his eyes, his face a mask of resignation. It was as if he had expected this, or perhaps accepted it.

Zack felt a strange chill in the air, the temperature dropping by a few degrees. The flickering lights overhead cast unsettling shadows across the room. Something felt… off.

A low hum filled the air, growing louder with each passing second. The pillars around the room began to vibrate, their surfaces glowing faintly with an otherworldly energy. Sparks crackled in the air, and the survivors instinctively stepped back, their hearts pounding.

The sound of Ambrose's agony exploded in the room. A raw, guttural cry that seemed too perfect, too rehearsed. The convulsions that followed looked almost mechanical, as if his body was being controlled by invisible strings.

His muscles seized against the restraints, veins bulging, his skin turning an unnatural shade of red, but there was something strange in the way his chest didn't rise and fall like it should. The burning flesh in the air wasn't just real. It felt too real, as if it had been manufactured to sting the survivors' senses.

Zack took a step forward, his instincts as a doctor kicking in. "We have to do something!" he shouted, his voice desperate.

Ellie grabbed his arm, yanking him back with surprising strength. "We can't! If we interfere, we'll be next!"

Zack hesitated, his fists clenched at his sides. There was nothing to be done. The chains held Ambrose too tightly, and the strange vibration in the air felt like it was part of the whole process, controlled.

And then, just as suddenly as the chaos had started, there was silence.

The chains released with a loud clunk, and Ambrose's body slumped forward, lifeless. His once-sharp eyes were now dull and empty, his face frozen in a grimace of pain. The room fell silent, the only sound the faint hum of the System's machinery.

For a moment, no one moved. The survivors stared at Ambrose's body, their minds struggling to process what they had just witnessed. 

Then, the room shifted. The walls blurred.

The survivors barely had time to react before darkness swallowed them whole.

—

They landed hard.

Zack groaned as he pushed himself up, his palms scraping against the cold tile.

Fluorescent lights flickered to life overhead. It was the lobby in the hospital.

The room where the final challenge happened was gone. 

Ellie was the first to speak, her voice hollow. "He's dead." She stared blankly.

Mark's hands were clenched into fists. Arya's gaze was locked on the empty space where Ambrose had been.

Jake let out a slow breath. "We need to move."

Zack's mind couldn't let go of the image. The way Ambrose had seemed to die. That scream, the agonizing convulsions... but it didn't add up. The way he had screamed had been too controlled. Too measured. As if he knew it would happen. It was too performative...

Then...

A shadow curled in the corner of the room.

Zack's heart skipped a beat.

The others noticed it too.

A figure emerged from the shadow.

Tall. Composed. Untouched.

Ambrose.

Zack's blood ran cold.

Ellie took a step back, her voice tight with disbelief. "You—"

Ambrose tilted his head, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Surprised?"

Mark's voice cracked. "You died."

Ambrose didn't seem bothered by their shock. "Not quite."

Zack's mind was spinning. How?

Ambrose sighed, rolling his shoulders as if testing the movement of his limbs. "When the stats updated, I got a new attribute, The Unyielding Shield. It said I could withstand fatal damage once."

Zack blinked, his thoughts scrambling to catch up. Fatal damage? He thought back to the agonizing, violent death. How could he have survived that?

Mark narrowed her eyes. "Once? So you knew you'd survive?"

Ambrose hesitated for a moment, a brief flicker of something passing through his expression. "I suspected," he said, his voice distant. "But I didn't know for sure." He met their eyes, his gaze steady. "I gambled."

The weight of it sank in. He had known something was off, but hadn't told them.

Zack clenched his fists. "And you didn't tell us?"

Ambrose's eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Would it have made a difference?"

Zack opened his mouth to argue, but the question hung in the air. The truth settled over him, cold and heavy. If Ambrose hadn't volunteered, someone else would have. And they wouldn't have survived.

Ellie crossed her arms, irritation flashing in her eyes. "Next time, you tell us everything."

Ambrose smirked, the tension in his shoulders easing as he turned to walk away. "Next time, you sit in the chair."

She scowled, but he was already moving.

Mark exhaled sharply. "We should move."

Zack glanced at Ambrose one last time, unease gnawing at him. Alive. But not entirely the same.

Zack was thinking a lot of things all at once, trying to understand what happened and what to make of it. 

'Why would the system give him a new attribute like an unyielding shield?'

'Wouldn't that make it harder to eliminate survivors?'

'Is he the only one who had an attribute like that or does someone else have it?'

'Since we can only see our own status updates and our own screen, how would I know the status of the others?'

'Like what happened to Ambrose, what if someone also had a skill or new attribute that can be used for their own gain?'

Right now, he couldn't trust any of them, even Arya and Jake. He can only trust himself from now on and try to survive this even if he does this alone. 

There it was… The mechanical voice again…

[Trial Two: Complete.]

[Survivors, proceed to the Hospital's waiting area. A reward is waiting for you.]

The group started walking from the hospital lobby to the waiting area because it was near the ER in front of the hospital and they were on the second floor. 

Ambrose was walking alone and behind him was Jake. Zack and Arya were not the only one who thinks or feels that there is something going on with Ambrose, but also Jake. 

Jake walked briskly to meet Ambrose's pace. 

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Jake asked. 

He thought that if he portrays that he trusts Ambrose, then maybe, he will be open or vulnerable around him. With that in mind, he would know what his true motives are. As people say, "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

"Good," he said coldly, not even looking at Jake, his hands in his pocket and eyes looking around the hospital. It was like talking to a ghost. No emotions, just the same unreadable expression. 

"I saw you collapse on the floor, lifeless. Your skin burned through bones," Jake said. 

"Well, I guess I got lucky," he replied. 

"Yeah, I guess you are. Just make sure you don't run out of luck, you'll need it," without another word, he turned and walked past Ambrose. 

'When he knocked on the diner, he was full of emotions like someone was chasing him and his 'friends' and whatnot. But now, suddenly, it is like he accepted that death is upon him. Maybe it was an adrenaline rush?' But all this time he's with us, his demeanor has changed." Jake muttered to himself. 

'That guy is probably hiding something'

And he is eager to find out what it is. 

—

Upon arriving at the waiting area. There was a buffet waiting for them. All kinds of foods you could think of are probably there. There was a table with six chairs in the center, a chandelier lit at the ceiling, brightening up the whole area. 

"Holy moly! Is this for real? Maybe it was one of their sick illusions?" Ellie said with a bit of excitement in the beginning and mixed with frustration later on.

"The voice said that Trial 2 has been completed. So, I guess this is not an illusion anymore," Mark replied while inspecting the line up of foods. 

"Well, you got a point. But this is not something they do. What's the catch?" Ellie asked while looking at everyone.

The voice echoed all around the room.

[This reward is granted for your survival. Eat and Recover. Your next mini challenge will begin soon.]

A hush fell over the room.

Ellie's excitement dimmed instantly. "Mini challenge?" she repeated. "What the hell does that mean?"

Mark tensed. "So, it's not just a reward, then. There's always a catch."

Zack exhaled, rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension that had taken root. "We should eat while we can. If there's another challenge coming, we need to be ready for it."

Jake crossed his arms. "Wouldn't be surprised if it's poisoned."

Zack, exhausted and running on sheer willpower, pinched the bridge of his nose. "We need food. Whether this is a trap or not, we won't last long starving."

Arya nodded hesitantly. "If they wanted to kill us, they wouldn't need to go through all this effort. They could've just done it during the trials."

Mark took a cautious step forward. "We take turns eating. One person eats, the rest observe for any side effects. If nothing happens, we all eat."

Ellie sighed. "Great. Human lab rats."

Zack reached for a plate, scooping a small portion of food. He hesitated, then took a careful bite.

The room was dead silent as they all watched.

Seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Zack exhaled. "It's fine."

Ellie practically dove toward the table, grabbing whatever looked good. "I swear, if I die from this, I'll haunt every single one of you."

Mark sat down, finally allowing himself to relax. Jake and Arya followed, each taking cautious bites.

Only Ambrose remained standing, watching the scene unfold.

"You're not eating?" Zack asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Ambrose glanced at the food, then at Zack. "Not hungry."

Jake smirked. "What, you don't trust it?"

Ambrose chuckled lowly, stepping back from the table. "Let's just say... I'd rather not take the risk."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself."

The tension in the room didn't disappear entirely, but for the first time in what felt like forever, they had a moment of respite.

Yet, as Zack chewed his food, something gnawed at the back of his mind.

'There is a mini challenge and they don't know anything about it. He thought that there will only be trials, but what the hell is this mini challenge?'

And he doubted their luck would last much longer.