The Equation Of Doubt

Derek kept on solving through the block of unending equations.

With each equation he solved, each riddle, he doubted his decision. Maybe he was wrong, he thought. Maybe he wasn't going about this the right way.

Derek's thoughts kept running wild as he tried his best to increase his problem-solving speed. By this time, he had just over one minute left.

Derek stopped abruptly as his eyes landed on the screen. The screen remained colorless— even the time didn't show up.

All it did was glitch periodically. Derek felt chills run through him.

Something has to be wrong, Derek thought.

But despite that thought, he kept solving. Unknowingly to him, he had barely 30 seconds left.

Still unaware of the situation, Derek just kept solving. Then, all of a sudden, he saw the screen glitch once more.

And then a thought crossed his mind: Maybe some problems just can't be solved in certain circumstances.

Derek sighed and resumed solving— and then it struck him. Maybe under these circumstances, this particular problem can't be solved at all.

Derek's gaze turned more serious as he began to deeply examine the globe once more.

******

Lucian remained calm— after all, Derek had just 10 seconds left. Finding out the main answer now couldn't help.

Lucian then shifted his gaze to the leaderboard. With the Mind Grid ending in a few seconds, there was likely going to be no serious changes by the end.

To Lucian's shock, Derek was ranked second. Thompson still remained at the top of the table, but there was something else— something deeper— that disturbed him.

Derek was on the last level, same as Thompson. But Thompson, by virtue of his speed, had gotten there first— and yet, he still hadn't been able to pull it off.

Lucian knew that each player would be re-ranked after the competition, and the winner of this round would be making around $500,000.

Lucian rested his back on the chair as the time counted down— 3, 2, 1— and then the screen displaying the ranking shut down.

After a while, Miss Elizabeth stepped onto the podium once more. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"The Mind Grid has officially concluded, with only one candidate managing to reach the end— and three candidates reaching the final levels."

In everyone's mind, it was definitely Thompson. It couldn't be anyone else. Thompson had remained first on the leaderboard throughout the entire hour allocated to the Mind Grid.

Even those who were watching the screen just before it turned off had seen him still in first place.

Some members of the audience began to leave. According to them, they had seen everything— all the drama— and felt fulfilled. They didn't need to stay to hear Thompson announced as the winner once more.

But Thompson's loyal fans stayed. They still wanted to cheer for him, see his reaction, and hope they had his level of knowledge.

In Thompson's last competition, he had been ranked "A" in intelligence— a shock to his fans, who believed it was a mistake. This was one of the reasons they stayed: to see the correction finally reflected.

According to them, he should at least be ranked "S" or even "SS". 

*****

Derek stood still at the announcement, his hands still on the button. He'd had the intuition that this level was a dead end— unsolvable.

But after he'd quickly examined the board, he had an idea.

Maybe the level is actually unsolvable.

And that was the answer to the question.

He examined the globe deeply— and then he saw it.

The green button with END LEVEL on it.

And without giving it a second thought, he clicked it.

Then he heard the announcement. But that wasn't even what bothered him.

What bothered him the most was the fact that he couldn't even see the result of this level. The screen still remained dark, just as it had been when the level first began.

After hearing the announcement, Derek let out a groan and bit his lip.

Did I just fail? Derek began revisiting all his past levels in his mind.

Have I done enough? he asked himself subtly, before his knees gave way and he fell.

The last level carried the highest points— and Derek knew this all too well.

Soon, another announcement echoed:

"All contestants should report to the block and return the black suits."

Derek was still kneeling. He punched the floor beneath him before finally getting up.

The holographic world created by the Mind Grid finally dissolved, and Derek found himself just before the same door he had entered through.

He calmly opened the door and stepped outside. Most candidates were already ready and waiting.

Derek was still expressionless. He was still mentally running through his trial, checking what he had possibly missed.

He had no room for failure, Derek thought quietly.

Soon, an attendant came to lead the candidates to the dorm.

After what seemed like an hour, all candidates were fully dressed and began proceeding to the hall, where they would finally hear the full results of the Mind Grid event.

There was a lot of tension in the air as the candidates walked back into the hall. Every footstep seemed so gentle.

Shivers could be heard. Unlike before— when they were headed to the Mind Grid— there was no periodic laughter or chatter. Just pure silence.

The tension was gripping.

Soon enough, everyone was gathered and seated in the hall, awaiting the news.

Although the audience had now been cut by almost half, the show was still being broadcast to many people.

Even the audience who had left still went home to watch it on their various devices.

Miss Elizabeth gracefully walked onto the podium, a slim chip in her hands.

Her steps intensified the tension in the air. After about a minute, Miss Alison made it to the podium, dropping the chip onto the small desk before her.

A blue light emitted from the desk as she scrolled through the information.

After sliding through the data for some time, she finally raised her head. The whole hall was thick with silence— tension prominent in the air.

After some time, Miss Elizabeth cleared her throat and finally spoke:

"Now to the results of the day…"