Chapter 9- Test Of Wits 6

Seven individuals stood in the room, locked in a tense staring contest. The air was thick with suspicion, each of them trying to avoid accusing the others of their predicament but failing to do so. 

At this point, it was nearly futile to point fingers as this was clearly done in a planned and decisive way. 

Dollina stood in the middle, her arms folded and her gaze lingering on each of the men gathered. Two people had been lost, dead even, without knowing how this occurred. 

It caused a shift within her, discomfort and anger at her inadequacy in finding the culprit. 

She sighed, her thoughts reeling in. 

'This is absurd, we should be trying to focus on clearing it together as Blue taskers, but we won't get the chance to at this point….' 

The images of both bodies played in her head, a haunting reminder gnawing at her, reminding her of the stakes at hand. 

'One was decapitated and a note was written, the other was definitely a pre-planned murder….both cases led to the inevitable death and one of us is still missing'. 

Zon coughed out, startling the others and causing them to turn to him. 

"Sorry, I just thought the tension in here would kill me". He said as he looked away. 

"This isn't a joke, Zon. Two people have died, and one is missing…..we're as good as narrowed into a corner". 

They turned to the figure which just spoke, their judgemental gazes sending waves of shivers down his spine. 

He shook his head in an attempt to dismiss the discomfort. 

"I didn't do it. I was just as surprised as you were….there was no mention of a broken floorboard in the blueprint". 

Ferralo suddenly clasped his mouth shut; surprise etched in the other's expression as they stared at him. 

"You were shown a blueprint as well?" Dollina questioned while the others turned to her. 

"So was I" 

"And I as well…" Bryan cried out with his hands in the air.

A brief silence ensued before Dollina broke it off. 

"So it's best to assume that we all have the blueprint" 

"Yes, that would explain the killer's movement". Zon interjected, his fingers stroking his chin as he contemplated the past events. 

"It seemed like the killer knew this mansion like it was their own, so it's obvious that they were given a different kind of Blueprint". 

"A different kind?" Dollina muttered while the others arched their brows in confusion. 

"One with more details, one that shows, perhaps, a hidden pathway….didn't you say it yourself, a knife was stabbed into Jonn's chest?" 

"Yes, it seemed like someone planted it there beforehand so it impaled anyone that fell flat on the floor". 

"But…wouldn't that require time?" Goliath asked, his gaze flickering in confusion. 

"Yes, I assumed so as well. It doesn't make sense that they were given enough time". 

A moment of silence ensued yet again, Bryan breaking it this time. 

"Well, if you think about it….we were given the best course on how to complete the exploration process. It's exactly why we all agreed to split up when Kenhi said so". 

Zon grunted after his statement, an unease growing within him as he turned to Paxton. 

"Didn't you guys go to the Kitchen just the other time?" He asked. 

Bryan and Paxton turned to him, Bryan suddenly shaking his and gesturing with his arms. 

"We did but we didn't have anything to do with it. Where would we have the time to plant something like that when we were stuck in that room for minutes?!".

"Yes, I did think of the possibility as well…" 

Dollina tilted her head, her gaze landing on Paxton. 

"What do you think, Paxton?" 

Paxton looked up at her, shrugged, pulled his shirt up and revealed the knife at his waist. 

"I did, in fact, carry a knife, but this was for mere protection. Maybe if you guys did that, then you would have a bit of protection, too". 

The others stared at him for a moment, puzzled by his statement and his attitude. 

"He has a point though". Zon said with a click of his tongue as he turned away. 

"Perhaps we should? It will protect us either way and even if we know the Killer does have secret pathways, we can find them and search for them through it". 

"There will be bound to be evidence if there were secret passageways". 

"I believe we don't need evidence for that, Dollina. If you think about it, there's no reason why he could have appeared in the room Naomi and Risa were without startling them at the door". 

Zon took a short pause, then continued. 

"But somehow, he got in without anyone realizing it. There is indeed a secret passage". 

It was a truth difficult to swallow, and one they had not wished to accept. If it was as it said, then wouldn't the killer have a higher chance of winning the game than they would? 

They were lost in their thoughts, attempting to piece whatever information they scurried in there. 

"It's ironic really….it seems like the Server only wants strength and brains….not one of them but both when it comes to the second test". 

Paxton said with a sigh. 

"I assume so…this is tasking but we shall resolve it nonetheless….I believe we still have forty more minutes and thirty more rooms to explore?" 

She glanced at Kenhi, who nodded with a beaming smile on his face.

"Then….what do we do?" 

"....well, we have no way of telling when next the killer will appear, but I believe we may have some time before they attack any of us". 

Zon replied, placing his arm on the back of his neck as he massaged it a bit. 

"Perhaps we should carry weapons of our own to avoid another scenario like Naomi and Risa". 

Everyone in the room seemed to nod their heads in approval or agree with his statement inwardly without expressing it outwardly, but within Dollina and Zon, something felt off. 

What was it though? They wondered.

A few minutes passed and the seven current members of the group were now holding weapons that had been hung on the wall. 

Dollina held a spear, Goliath a shield, Bryan, Zon and Paxton a dagger, and Ferralo a barrel. 

Now, it seemed like everyone had decided to move in with peers and continue with the exploration. 

Dollina and Kenhi, Goliath and Ferralo and now, Bryan, Zon and Paxton, who were the last to climb back up the stairs. 

There had been a tense silence ensuing between them, Bryan unable to speak up, out of fear of Zon. 

It was made palpable with his tense movements as he walked between the two individuals. 

The individuals in question seemed to have retreated to their thoughts, Zon especially. 

'Weapons huh?' He thought. 'There can be more casualties and discord in the group if it were used wrongly….is that what the killer is going for?' 

Zon was susceptible to human changes and his environment. He was extremely observant and critical, and his genre of games showcased his kind of mentality.

Having a laid-off expression and an easygoing lifestyle, many had come to know him as an underdog in his department. Not because he was someone they underestimated, but because of the way he acted. 

Now, with their goals set on exploring, he decided to watch the two individuals he suspected the most. 

'It's definitely between the boy who claims to be innocent or the one who claims to be suspicious'. 

One acted suspiciously, with mischievous smiles played at distinct moments and gazes that drifted to the most random moments while the other seemed jovial, easy to string things together while keeping a straight face. 

'Either way, what have they gone through for them to kill a human so easily?'. 

They say killers are born, then what kind of life does a killer need to live to become one? How could it be so easy to wipe away the guilt of ending a life that was never yours to control? 

His thoughts muddled with his inner conversations and he snapped out of both, his focus regaining control. 

"Which room should we check out?" Zon asked. 

A smirk formed from the tip of Paxton's lips. 

'You see what I mean! What's the smirking for all of a sudden! And he seemed like an upright leader during the Test Of Survival! Why the heck is he acting so suspicious….does he want to get killed so badly? Wait…the rules of the blue taskers…where what again?' 

His thoughts reeled in as he recalled them. 

'One. Never stay in the same rule with a teammate for too long. 

Two. Always be aware of your surroundings.

Three. A Blue Tasker must explore all rooms. They will be marked accordingly after spending at least one minute. 

Four. Killing a fellow Blue Tasker before half the time limit reduces the total time limit by ten minutes, and thus, the number of kill counts for the Red Tasker to accomplish. 

Five. Killing a fellow Blue Tasker after half the time limit makes you the Red Tasker. 

Six. Killing the Red Tasker before the total time limit, ends the test'. 

He glanced at the dagger he held, a sigh escaping his lips. It was clear now that these weapons they held had become a double-edged tool.