Just like how the dynamic wielder always does, he disappeared and the mist cleared, only for the trio to find themselves barely a meter away from the first tile on the bridge.
"How did we get here?" Zain said while looking front and back cautiously.
The entire area changed, the maze was no longer there but rather, a dark endless abyss and a smooth black clear ground was all behind them. The whole place seem to be constantly alternated by this dynamic wielder guy.
"I think it's the mist," Gem replied. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this, Zain."
Zain and Dem both turned toward Gem in confusion.
Zain then asked, "What do you mean?"
While staring at his hands, Gem replied. "This trial is impossible. Every time we pass through a trial, I just come with a reasonable conclusion, I just feel like he wants us dead."
What if he doesn't even have a way to grant them magic, but was just toying with them.
A calm smile appeared on Zain's face as he replied, "I know he wants us dead, he obviously stated this right from the start and that's more reason why we should not die. He wants us dead even before we stepped in here, but we conquered all his challenges. We passed all the trials, even at the last moment."
"That's why we should keep going. I also once thought I'll die and was screaming 'mummy'," he spoke the last word in a sarcastic manner quite embarrassed himself. "But we all did it, we passed.
Now you have the same feeling, clear it off. Dem and I will handle this."
Zain spoke as he took a step forward, closer to the bridge. Unlike you guys, my talent doesn't lie in stuff that is meant to happen like this. Zain spoke with a serious expression, but what he said wasn't entirely the main picture.
The three of them all have something that makes them unique. For Dem, it was his intelligence. For Gem, it was his muscle. And for Zain, well, it's indeed a selfish talent, the talent of self healing wounds inflicted to him on any caliber he receives.
At one point, Zain once drank a liquid from Dem's test tube thinking it was orange juice, but it turned out to be an acid that instantly caused AIDS, weakening one's immune system to the worst-case scenario. But it never happened.
At first, it affected Zain a bit, but moments later, Zain's body already healed itself fought the disease, and he was back to normal.
"So, this is the one step remaining for us to become mages?!"
Bending down in a squat-like position and with his hands stretched out to the ground, Zain took his jumping stance.
From the fantasy book I read, in a case like this where illusions are created to deceive, the big boy simply focuses his senses in order to differentiate between the real and fake.
With his head down and his eyes closed focused in silence. Minutes passed and all Zain could feel was nothing.
Zain thought, 'Why is this so hard? I can't even feel anything.
If only I had adrenaline like Gem to boost my hearing and feeling or have a good sense.
If only I could ask Gem to do this, he would have been able to try, but... I can't tell him to do so, or he'll know that I'm just as hopeless as him and make him more hopeless than he is.'
"It's all up to me. I am among the reasons why we're here, so I should take my responsibility. The other two have already done their part, now it's my turn," he thought.
Opening his eyes, Zain then decided to change tactics and move closer to the tiles to inspect them.
The tunnel below was deep. Zain couldn't see the end, and it was dark, sending shivers down his spine.
"Wait a minute, I see it. I can see the fake and the real. The one on the left looks more solid in nature, while the other... It's also solid but not as solid as the one on the left," Zain said loudly.
*GASP*
Turning around, he exclaimed, "The tile on the right is the right tile. I'll take the lead."
Taking his jumping stance again, he then leaped forward.
"No, Zain, wait!" Dem screamed, but it was already too late. Zain had already jumped, as with curious eyes, they stared at Zain's feet as they slowly came downwards.
"Damn! Why does it feel like he is falling downward in slow motion?" Dem cursed with his eyes curiously fixed on Zain.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Zain screamed as he was falling downwards.
The moment his leg made contact with the tile, it went through like nothing existed there in the first place.
Zain... stepped on the wrong tile!
"Noooooooo!!!"
The duo behind noticed this quick.
Quickly moving backwards, Gem blurted out something something he has never done before.
**Adrenaline boost**
His golden-brown eyes gleamed as he took his stance.
*Swoosh*
In the fastest Gem had ever moved and his adrenaline active, he blasted forward with his body slicing through the air.
Grabbing Zain mid-motion, he landed on the other tile, right in front of Zain safely, along with Zain, of course.
Ahhhhh! Zain screamed.
"Darn, I nearly died," Zain blurted out, his eyes still wide in shock as if he was traumatized. No, he was actually traumatized!
"Try to be more careful, but don't you dare do what I'm about to do, ever." Gem warned.
Leaping two more times, Gem seemed to be quite lucky because both of the tiles were real.
Dropping Zain on the square tiles, he then leaped forward again, landing on another tile successfully. Gem then turned around and said, "That's four in a row, Dem. Hop in."
Still on the platform, Dem finally readied himself to jump forward.
Zain finally calmed down and started analyzing the situation again while getting back to his feet.
"I have to think. I have to think," Dem said. "Zain, he said the rod has electricity running through it, and we cannot touch it, right? Then let's use something that doesn't conduct electricity."
"Umbrella, helmet, hand gloves. Umbrella, helmet, hand gloves. Umbrella, helmet, hand gloves," Zain murmured to himself.
"Hand gloves, wooden hand gloves. The hand gloves on our hands are wooden hand gloves, we never damage it and it is still available for use."
"Right!" Dem responded, they had this on the whole time and didn't even noticed.
"Woods are poor conductors of electricity, so we'll have to put on the wooden hand gloves so that no matter how intense the electricity is, it won't affect us."
"Yeah, that's good for you guys," Gem responded. "I'll wait behind."
"Why is that?" Zain questioned, completely determined not to go when they aren't complete.
Raising up his arm, Gem revealed his deep shoulder wound he received from the beasts earlier. "I do have adrenaline, but it doesn't stop me from feeling pain," Gem explained.
"You guys just go ahead. I'll wait here. Besides, he said this is the final assessment."
"No, Gem, you have already began! And besides, we can't, and you cannot stay on one tile for more than ten seconds." Zain said trying to convince Gem until his last sentence echoed on his head.
"Wait a minute! How long have we been standing?"
*Crack* *crack* *crack*
" We cannot stay on one tile for more than ten seconds! Damn, we've been standing here for more than t-"
*CRASH*
Before Zain could complete his sentence, the tile broke without warning. After Zain's tile, the next was Dem and then, Gem.
They all fell right into the pit below.
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"Power stone, power stone, please power stones. Vote for my book with your power stone, please."