Mr. Hugh held a gold piece up high above his head while standing atop one of the many boulders scattered throughout their campsite while everyone gathered around watching eagerly awaiting what would happen next.
The sun was beginning to set behind them casting long shadows across the ground below them making it difficult to see clearly what was happening from where the students stood around their teacher waiting impatiently for Mr. Hugh's decision about the results and authenticity of the gold piece.
Leaning toward Fiona, Grant whispered softly but loud enough for her ears only, "What do you think is going on? Is this guy really serious that he can't tell the real from a bunch of fakes and cheats? I mean look at all these gold surrounding him," Grant pointed towards several other pieces lying on top of rocks nearby each other as well as within pockets inside of backpacks being held by some of the other students present as they waited patiently alongside Mason, Grant, and Fiona to get their pieces examined first before the winner could be determined.
Fiona rolled her eyes, disappointed by the fact the majority had brought up fake gold evidence while also lying that they had eaten the golden apple themselves. She knew full well how much effort Mason had put into finding it in order to prove it wasn't just another lie or hoax among so many others in recent days since arriving in the campsite. She didn't want to hear any more excuses coming out of people's mouths, especially not now since it was time for someone to pay for those lies!
"Did you really eat the–"
"Mr. Hugh?" Fiona raised her hand, cutting off Grant mid-sentence when she saw his mouth open wide with excitement ready to speak again after guessing what he wanted to say. The rest of the class turned around slowly with curious looks on their faces until finally turning back around once more with confused expressions plastered across their features like masks over their true feelings about what happened next.
"Yes, Miss Monroe." Mr. Hugh replied calmly without taking his gaze away from her gold piece still in his hand. "This is your piece, am I correct?" He asked curiously as if trying to figure something else out besides simply asking if this piece belonged to her.
He looked down at the piece carefully then lifted one eyebrow slightly as though surprised by its weight which made Fiona smile widely as she answered confidently, "Yes sir! But it's not just mine but Mason, Grant's. We found it as a group." Her voice filled with confidence and pride which made everyone turn and stare at her momentarily before looking back towards Mr. Hugh who continued staring intently at her prize before speaking aloud, "I believe we have a winner here today..."
Fiona smiled even wider than before hearing him confirm that they were indeed all winners together. Even though the very person who was meant to get all the credit had worked hard enough on finding that golden apple for their team, instead of relying on lies and false evidence, Mason chose to have her represent them.
She felt herself blush ever so slightly under the attention being focused on them right now while also feeling proud of how far they'd come so quickly within such little time. Mason winked at her playfully while smirking and mouthing the words, 'I told you so.'
*****
Dropping onto his bed, Mason stared at the ceiling, ignoring the loud snores coming from the rest on their beds nearby since he couldn't sleep yet either due to thinking about everything going on around him lately including his newfound relationship with Fiona alongside other things he needed to take care of soon like getting ready mentally to leave after the trip.
'Kitanai I'd like to spin the wheel.'
Ding!
Mason sat up straight in surprise when suddenly an image appeared in front of him showing a large spinning wheel covered in symbols written in different languages across its surface in various colors making it difficult to see clearly what each symbol stood for or represented in any way shape or form. The first thing that caught his eye was a small red dot near one end which seemed familiar somehow but didn't make sense.
The wheel spun quickly in a blur as images flashed by too fast for him to catch anything more than glimpses here and there as well as some sounds,then as quickly as it sun, it came to an abrupt stop.
Ding
[Spin a wheel reward: Ability]
[Ability: Mental Manipulation]
[Duration: 12 hours]
Mason's eyes widened slightly upon seeing this ability pop up. He read through the description carefully before looking back towards the others who were still asleep like pigs, unaware of what had just happened before glancing over towards the user interface once more.
He got to his feet, clad in only his boxer shorts before carefully avoiding stepping on any of his mate's faces or limbs for the fun of it.
Mason opened the door but to his disappointment the creaking sound of the door had him wince at the hearing which made everyone stir awake at almost exactly the same time while some groaned loudly at being woken up so abruptly from their slumber.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
They all looked at Mason with sleepy expressions plastered across their features while rubbing their tired eyes with their hands.
"What is going on?" Grant murmured with confusion filling his voice as if not understanding why they woke up right now instead of later when they would have been ready to wake up in a few more hours when the sun rose again outside.
"There's no need to be so curious," Mason replied, utilizing his ability, he continued. "Go back to sleep and forget this ever occurred." His words caused them all to fall back onto their beds and go straight back into deep sleep without another word spoken between each other after that momentary awakening.
Mason smiled widely, watching each one sleep peacefully after witnessing a fraction of what he could do with his newfound abilities. He closed the door quietly, his back against the door.
[What do you plan on using your new skill for, host?]
A wicked grin spread across his face as he thought about how much fun he would have while the ability lasted. 'I have a few things I've always wanted to try as I've seen in a few episodes, do you think it'll be fun?'
[...]
There was no way that it could read its host's mind since it didn't know much about the inner thoughts of Mason except those approved by him.
Mason pushed off the door, 'how about I play matchmaker?' He asked with a grin upon seeing another girl who he had recalled that got into a battle of words with Dai sneaking into the off-limits room.
*****
Author's Note
~ Any idea on what Mason plans on doing?
If you've read this far, 400 power stones=3 bonus chapters, if I get a huge turn up, I can dish out more chapters (aside the usual 2-3) in a day.