One Month Later
I had arrived at the meeting place twenty minutes before the scheduled time. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to review one last time the document that had been emailed to me a week ago, on May 31st.
Name: Saver Frey
Age: 23 years
Gender: Male
University: Huss University
Faculty: Mathematics
Academic Year: Fourth Year
A little over a month ago, my fellow university students and I were selected to participate in a national-level exam. This exam contained all sorts of questions, but mostly unusual ones. I admit I'm not entirely sure how I did, but apparently, three of my colleagues and I were among the top performers in the exam. Additionally, our university once again ranked first nationally.
Huss was an incredibly difficult university: classes took up most of the day, there were massive amounts of exercises to complete, and the exams were extremely difficult, with a failure rate of over 78% per subject. Additionally, you were required to participate in one of the sports the university funded; it didn't matter if it was volleyball, swimming, basketball, or something else, you were obligated to attend at least one sport. According to the professors, this was the absolute application of the Latin saying mens sana in corpore sano; however, this was precisely what led to the psychological breakdown of most students. Usually, 300 students would enter Huss per faculty, and only 15 or 20 would graduate, often suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. But if you managed to maintain a certain level of discipline, you were assured a place in the upper ranks of all the country's major companies. It was well known that the best lawyers, doctors, engineers, and economists had all studied at Huss. Our university had a certain reputation and did everything to maintain it. For this reason, I was proud to represent my university in such an important event.
However, this university tournament… had seemed strange from the beginning. Thinking back to a month ago, I remember the day when the other three students and I were called in to register for the exam. I had just finished the last Advanced Algebra class, which, as usual, was full of definitions, theorems, and proofs; it was also the last class of the semester, as exams were scheduled to start the following week. The umpteenth exams. As usual, the professor finished the lecture by wishing us good luck on the final exam and giving us various tips. We were ready to leave the classroom when the professor asked us all to wait a moment; shortly after, a well-dressed man entered the classroom and took the microphone.
"Good morning everyone, and I apologize for the interruption. I would kindly ask the following students to come forward: Saver Frey, Sharon Marlene, Kyle Frennero, and Marcel Gins."
I jumped as soon as I heard my name; I took a moment to process the other names I had heard. Sharon Marlene was one of my best friends; we often studied together, hung out with other friends, she was someone I enjoyed spending time with. Kyle Frennero was a name I had heard occasionally, since there were only 30 of us in the course now, but I had never really spoken to him. Lastly, Marcel Gins, the smartest guy in our course; he had a perfect score, always ready and prepared, but also always willing to help. He wasn't one to be jealous of his abilities, in fact, he was someone who tended to help others as much as he could. A great guy, at least that's what he showed others. After a moment of thought, I decided to approach the man who had called me. Kyle Frennero was the first to arrive, followed by me, and then Sharon and Marcel joined us. The man gestured for us to follow him.
"You have been summoned by the university rector."
What? Summoned by the rector? What happened? And why together with these people? I looked at Sharon with a worried expression. She signaled that she had no idea what was going on. I glanced at Marcel for a second; he proceeded forward without even turning back once. It was incredible how he could move forward with such confidence. We arrived at a door, which the man opened. We found four empty chairs in front of a desk; on the other side was Rector Bernard.
"Hello, everyone, please have a seat."
The door behind us closed, and we sat down.
"So, I know you are very busy lately, with the end of classes, the start of exams, and the end of your fourth year. Moreover, you are Mathematics students, one of the most challenging faculties at this university."
The most challenging, I thought.
"So I'll try not to take up too much of your time and get straight to the point. I imagine you remember the exam you took last week. Well, the results haven't been publicly released yet, but of course, I already know how things went. Here are the top five rankings."
A screen on the wall lit up, projecting the ranking of the top five universities. We were first, as usual. However, as even the rector had guessed, we had little to celebrate. Why? We had all seen who was in second place.
Bless University.
And they weren't even that far behind us in points.
How was it possible that such a weak university compared to ours had achieved second place? How had they even surpassed Arrenal by several points?
I immediately turned to Sharon, who was sitting next to me. She signaled that she understood, that she was also confused.
"So, first of all, congratulations to you for keeping Huss's name high. I particularly congratulate you because you were among the top scorers in this test."
What? Seriously? We got the highest scores? I was among the best? Oh my god, I couldn't believe it.
I was so proud of myself.
"There were many candidates, but we chose you four because we needed people who got along well with each other. Since your environment is very… let's say, closed, I imagined that you all knew each other."
We couldn't deny it or confirm it. As mentioned earlier, I knew Sharon very well and had spoken a few times with Marcel; as for Kyle, I didn't know much about him.
"In any case, analyzing your scores and your resumes, you turned out to be the most suitable group for what's coming."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, this exam was just a preliminary test. An entrance exam. Two days ago, I was summoned to a meeting in the capital with the other four winning rectors and the tournament organizer."
"Tournament? Will there be a tournament among these universities?" Sharon asked.
I immediately understood where Sharon was going with this.
"Precisely."
"And will all the participants be fourth-year Mathematics students?" Sharon asked again.
"No… that's not necessarily the case. As I was saying, I went to this meeting and I was told that we would need to form groups of four people; among the various requirements were students in their fourth year who got along well. So they didn't specify the faculty, as I mentioned I chose you because you proved to be the most suitable for this activity."
He paused for a second.
"What I'm asking of you is very important. I know that in the next two weeks you'll be taking your semester exams. It's right that you focus on those as you have done for the past four years. However, after these two weeks, I would like you to get to know each other better if you don't already. In this exam, you will have to work as a team, so you'll need to be in sync with one another."
"We've already taken group exams," Marcel said. "There's never been a need for this kind of harmony you're talking about."
"You're right, but this is a special situation. In fact, I now want your final answer. In this exam, you won't just be competing academically. In this exam, you'll have to 'virtually kill' your opponents."
We'll have to do what?
"Excuse me," Sharon spoke up, "I think I didn't understand."
"Yes, I understand, it was difficult for me at first too."
The rector took a tablet and started scrolling through some images. He showed us a picture of a helmet.
"This device creates a simulated reality. I don't know anything more than what I've told you. I don't know anything about the next challenges you'll face, I can't give you advice on what to prepare for. I only know it's a very tough exam. So, I want your final answer now if you accept or not. Once accepted, there's no turning back. I must inform you that this could be the most difficult exam of your entire life, both academically and otherwise. The expected duration is one month."
Wow, too much information at once. And what kind of choice is this? I just wanted to prepare for this session. A month-long exam? How much would we have to do?
I quickly looked at the others; Sharon had a worried look, Kyle was trying to process what he had been told.
"I accept," Marcel exclaimed.
"Marcel, what are you doing?" I said.
"If you're against this choice, it's your business, Saver, I said I accept. Do I need to sign something?"
"Yes, sign here."
Marcel started signing a document.
"But you don't even know what it's about."
"I don't care; if I can be the best at something, I want to be."
His response was cold, determined. I couldn't even understand what was going through his mind.
You help everyone, true, but deep down you don't help because you like to help. You help because you like to feel better than others. This is the side you hide from everyone. Fine, we'll see who's the best.
"I'll sign too."
I signed.
"Great. Sharon? Kyle?"
Sharon thought for a couple of seconds; then she decided to sign too.
The concern brought on by the presence of the Bless had completely disappeared; she had a moment of anxiety, but now she was back to being her usual cheerful self. Only Kyle remained. The boy stood up from his chair.
"I'm sorry, Principal and colleagues. I won't be participating in this competition. To be honest, I already thought the test was a huge joke, and I'm not interested in being part of it any further. Especially if the goal is to kill other people. It doesn't matter to me whether it's virtual or not."
Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it; he mentioned killing virtually, but I didn't think it should be taken literally. Sure, we would have to face other opponents, but I doubted we would actually commit murder. Or at least I hope not. In any case, I often play video games where I've killed hundreds of people virtually. It won't be that different.
"Please forgive me," Kyle said.
"No problem," said the Principal. "In fact, it seemed too good to be true that all four of you would accept immediately. I don't think you've made the wrong choice; in fact, if I were in your shoes, I would probably have had a hard time as well. Making this decision was tough for me, but it's even tougher for you. Don't be sorry. And I'd ask your three colleagues here not to blame you. Hold your head high, young man."
Kyle immediately left the room.
"Well, guys, so the three of you have all signed. There's only one spot left; do you have any ideas?"
"Yes," said Marcel. "I know a guy, also from the mathematics course, who I think would be ideal to complete this group."
"Good. Can you call him now?"
"Sure, he's waiting for me outside at the entrance."
Marcel went out to call the guy. I knew who it was the moment Marcel spoke: Frank Retone. He was Marcel's right-hand man, or rather, his butler or sometimes even his lapdog; wherever Marcel was, Frank was there too, willing to do anything for him. Bringing him coffee, lunch, cleaning his table in the cafeteria, shining his shoes, and carrying his bags and jackets. In exchange? Free notes and tutoring available 24/7. As a result, Frank also got very high grades, but his academic career depended entirely on Marcel.
That's why I said Marcel is only seemingly a nice guy; in reality, his only goal is to be and appear as the best student in the whole university. In class, outside of class, and even in sports; Marcel practiced archery and was always the best every time a competition was held. Many admired him, many envied him, and some even hated him. However, Marcel didn't care about the hate; his only goal was to be the best, and he would do anything to achieve it. He had no qualms about making Frank his personal slave, and often, when people asked him for help frequently, he would start making demands. I've never wanted to confirm whether it was true or not, but it seems some students even went to clean his house in exchange for exam help. Personally, I didn't like his way of doing things, but since I had never needed his help, I never had this kind of problem.
After a couple of minutes, both Marcel and, of course, Frank returned and took their seats. The Principal reviewed Frank's resume.
"So, I don't see that he has particularly high scores, neither in his academic career nor in this exam. I see he gets excellent results playing soccer, which I'm pleased about. He's borderline when it comes to being admitted, but if you can assure me that this member won't cause problems with group harmony, I'll be happy to accept him."
"Of course," said Marcel. "He won't cause any harmony issues; if anything, he'll only strengthen it."
"I didn't ask for your opinion," the Principal immediately silenced Marcel. "But directly from the boy."
Marcel fell silent, visibly offended; he had an ego far too big to believe that anyone would talk back to him. And it bothered him even more to know that he couldn't respond. I couldn't help but feel a smirk creeping onto my face.
Frank thought for a couple of seconds.
"There won't be any problem. I plan to work with this group as if they were my second family, Principal."
"Your second family, even," the Principal replied, laughing. "Well, I can't say I'm disappointed with that answer. Sign here, young man. We've completed the group."
The Principal took the signature sheet and read it one last time. Then he placed it in one of the drawers, from which he then took out some other papers and handed them to us.
"I want you to fill out these forms by tomorrow; I'll be in this office exactly from 9 AM to 1 PM and from 3 PM to 7 PM. If for any reason you can't see me, the man who called you here today will be right next to that door. Give them to him."
"Excuse me," Frank said, "but I don't know who that is since I wasn't called."
"Don't worry, Frank, I know who it is," Marcel said.
"Great," continued the Principal. "Just to clarify, you need to return these documents to me by tomorrow. For your participation to be valid, I need to scan them and send them to the tournament organizer. It wasn't mentioned during the meeting, but these slides say that you should receive a file by email; you'll need to present it once you arrive in the capital for the tournament. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more about this, but I imagine there will be more instructions in the email you receive. Any questions?"
At first, the Principal had been very clear in giving us instructions, but everything was so vague and mysterious that I knew the further we went, the more questions would pop into my head.
"Where and when should we meet for the tournament?" Sharon asked.
"On June 7th, meet at 8:30 AM at the university entrance. A private driver will be waiting for you; you'll need to show him the documents and the file that will be emailed to you. I'll have already arrived in the capital a couple of days earlier, so I won't be traveling directly with you; I say 'directly' because there will be a computer in the car where we can have video calls to update each other and discuss possible strategies if I learn any new information or if you as a group decide on something."
"One question," Marcel asked. "Will there be an audience?"
"Of course he wants to show off," I thought.
"Yes," the Principal confirmed. "A certain number of students who apply can be admitted to attend the tournament. However, I too am waiting for more information on this."
A doubt plagued me... a doubt I found strange that it hadn't occurred to Marcel.
"What do we win?"
"Excuse me?" the Principal asked.
"I admit that this is something I should have asked earlier, but... what's the prize for this tournament?"
"Money," the Principal said bluntly. "Money for you, money for me, money for the university. Theoretically, also good publicity, but we're at the Huss, we don't need it," he added with a bit of a laugh.
"Principal," Sharon asked, "this isn't a technical question, it's more of an opinion. I'm not sure if these are the kinds of questions we're allowed to ask."
"Technically, I'm here to answer only technical questions," the Principal said, "but given the peculiar nature of the exam, I can easily make exceptions. Go ahead."
"Don't you find it strange that the Bless ranked second?"
Ah... I figured we'd end up talking about that sooner or later.
Bernard remained silent for a while.
"Honestly, I don't know. I can't deny that at first, seeing the Bless behind us by just a few points surprised me a lot. I also can't deny that the Bless is indeed the opponent that worries me the most, especially after seeing their... Principal again after so long."
After so long?
Does this mean that the Principal of Huss and the Principal of Bless knew each other in the past?
"They'll never represent a threat to us," Marcel interjected. "They probably got lucky because the questions were weird, and who knows how they graded them. I'm sure we'll put them back in their place on the first day of the tournament. Who knows, maybe we'll even manage to get them disqualified," Marcel seemed to get very excited by this idea.
"If there are no other questions, I'd say I can let you get back to your studies; I've taken up too much of your time. I'll see you tomorrow for the delivery of these papers, and then we'll try to stay updated; as I mentioned, try to come up with some strategies if you can. In any case, for now, I'll just wish you good luck with your exams!"