The two poles continuously spun over and over again for multiple minutes and it felt like it would never end for many. Some of the people on the wall had even begun struggling to even hold on as their arm muscles couldn't physically take it. It was even worse for those that had been jumping over the poles for a longer amount of time because their bodies were exhausted from the constant jumping but now also the stress that came with hanging on the wall.
J was no different than those around him as he began to sweat and show extreme exhaustion for the first time throughout this game. One of the main factors that have led to his immense exhaustion was the little girl still sleeping on his back. She still hadn't shown any sign of waking up and at this point she was just adding to the struggle of holding onto the wall but J had no intention of dropping her.
After 2 more minutes of hanging the first person couldn't hold on any longer and they fell from the wall, "NOOOO!" The person shouted as they fell toward the spinning poles. The person had been right beside J which made him reach out with one of his arms to catch them but sadly he wasn't fast enough and the person quickly plummeted to the ground before landing on the ground with a thud.
J started to look away since he didn't want to see the person die and he had almost lost his grip on the wall after letting go with one arm but much to his surprise when he turned his head once more after reattaching his grip he saw that the person hadn't been launched into the void and in fact both poles had stopped spinning.
The person that had fallen had their eyes closed but when they didn't feel the pole hit them after a few moments they opened their eyes and jumped in fright when they saw the pole had stopped less than 2 inches away from their face.
"Is it over?" Someone said in confusion as they dropped down from the wall and back onto the ground.
J and many others had this same thought so they slowly began getting off the wall and looking around trying to figure out what was happening but they didn't get anything until a few moments later when the screen appeared above them once more.
"Congratulations on completing your first game. I'm surprised that you all did so well but there seem to be many factors that led to your success. In fact you have had the least amount of deaths out of any group of people to ever take this test so you should be proud of yourselves." The Watcher said making many people jump in surprise and fright as he appeared once more with his mask and behind the same desk he was behind before.
After calming down from the surprise and realizing that they had finally passed and the trauma was over they couldn't help but smile and sigh in relief but it seemed that The Watcher wasn't done talking. J also picked up on the fact that The Watcher referenced other people taking the test before them.
'There were others?' J thought to himself trying to imagine just how much bigger the game they were in was than they thought.
"It seems that the obstacles are in the way let me get rid of those quickly." The Watcher said as he brought out his tablet once more hitting a button that made the whirring sound appear again. Many people began panicking trying to run back to the wall thinking that The Watcher was playing some sort of cruel joke and that in fact the game wasn't over but before anyone could get there the wall and the spinning poles lifted upward and were brought back into the void and out of people's sights.
"Now that those are gone you can stop panicking like children and let me finish what I was going to say. Congrats on passing the first game and making it to the next one. Much to your displeasure I'm sure, you won't be going straight to the other round like you may have thought but instead will be brought to your temporary living space. Here you can relax and regain your energy before each game while also conversing with your fellow members. The last thing I have for you before I go is I would like all of you to turn your attention to the opposite ceiling of where the screen currently is." The Watcher said dumping a ton of information that J tried to quickly understand in his mind.
While J was processing everything The Watcher was saying he and many others turned their sights to where he directed and saw a new light being shown in the dark abyss, it was a counter. The counter had only the number 99 on it and it was easily seen while standing anywhere on the platform. It illuminated through the dark void in front of them making it look like a lighthouse in the night. When everyone turned toward it The Watcher began elaborating further on what it was exactly.
"That number there is the number of people left. Since one of you died during this game it brought the original 100 down to a 99 and will continue to go down with each death that occurs among you. This number can also be found anywhere you are while in these games so don't worry about only seeing it in areas such as this. With that, I will now direct you toward your new housing area where more will be explained. Good luck." The Watcher said before they abruptly closed their screen and disappeared from everyone's sight. The number on the other hand was still displayed for all to see whenever they wanted.
As they were taking all this in a sudden rumbling sounded in front of them and when they looked in the direction of the sound they saw a path rising from the depths below.