As the survivors ran for their lives, the ground shook beneath their frantic footsteps. The translucent curtain, heavy with toxins, advanced relentlessly behind them, swallowing the air and life in its path.
Some, too slow, stumbled. Their cries mingled with the gasps of the others, before being muffled by the thick, deadly mist. Their bodies collapsed, shaking with spasms, then disappeared beneath the toxic veil.
Baka, his face contorted, refused to turn around. He knew what he would see: death creeping towards them, silent and inevitable. His breathing became ragged, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
But finally, a light appeared in the distance. A line of safety, like a sanctuary in the midst of chaos.
"Just a little further... just a little!" a voice screamed in panic.
And as they crossed the invisible line, the pressure eased. The air became breathable again, and silence returned abruptly, as if everything had just shut down behind them.
Out of breath and covered in sweat, they looked up.
In front of them, Koan was already watching them, standing motionless, his gaze lost in the void.
A blue glow then appeared above them. A notification appeared, suspended in the air:
[You have reached the area of the second puzzle.]
One of them, panting, scanned the surroundings. No other groups were in sight. He straightened up, a victorious smile on his face.
"We're the first!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "That means we get the reward!"
No sooner had he finished his sentence than a new window appeared in front of them, casting a silvery glow on their faces, still marked by their escape.
On the floating screen, familiar lines of text appeared: an interface similar to the one they had seen at the beginning of the game, when they had discovered the coin and shop system.
"It looks like... a store," someone whispered, eyes wide.
Another voice, more confident, added:
"If I understand the principle correctly, we can use the coins we earned in the first puzzle... either to buy items or to improve our stats."
A silence fell, broken only by the soft clicking of the glowing notifications.
For the first time since arriving in this nightmare, some of them felt a strange excitement, a sense of control, almost as if they were finally playing a game whose rules they were beginning to understand.
Reo stood silently in front of the floating window for a moment. His eyes slowly scanned the blue lines: Physical Strength, Agility, Magic Energy, Tenacity...
After a few seconds, he calmly closed the window with a wave of his hand, as if it were all insignificant detail.
He then turned to Baka, who still seemed amazed by the interface in front of him.
"Let me guess," Reo said in a neutral tone. "You put all your points into physical strength, right?"
Caught red-handed, Baka looked away, an embarrassed smile on his lips.
"Yeah... I figured I was too weak. If I want to keep up, I gotta be able to run or hit hard, right?"
Reo sighed softly, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"You can have all the muscles you want, but it won't do you any good if you've got nothing in your head."
Baka remained silent for a moment, looking down.
Reo added in a calmer tone:
"It's like the beginning of a game. If you spend everything on a single statistic, you become strong, but predictable. And in a new world like this... being predictable means death."
Baka, still pensive, finally looked up at Reo.
"And you, what did you do with your coins?" he asked, a little curious.
Reo shrugged slightly.
"Nothing for now. I'm waiting to see how things will evolve. This is not the time to bet everything on a whim."
Baka frowned, a little perplexed, but said nothing.
Just then, other figures appeared in the distance. The survivors, panting and covered in dust, joined the group one by one. The last stragglers had finally arrived.
A heavy silence fell over the area as everyone caught their breath.
Then, suddenly, a translucent window opened in front of them, casting a cold glow on their faces.
[Puzzle n°2: The Bridge of Oeneus
Explanation: After escaping the toxic zone, you find yourself in a safe area. However, to continue on your way, you must cross this magical bridge that replaces the Kiyosu Bridge. Cross it without breaking it under the effect of the water monster, the Cetus.
Cetus will break the bridge if and only if the following two conditions are not met:
- (1 ≤ x ≤ 4)
- Cetus is not fed a substantial amount of edible food.
Time: 30 minutes
Rules: - You can only cross the bridge if both conditions are met.
- If the bridge breaks, it will be repaired the next time you cross it.
- Bridge color code: blue (no analysis in progress), green (conditions met), red (conditions not met)
- You can anticipate the bridge breaking based on its color while the conditions are being analyzed (tending towards green or red).
Mystery solver: 20,490 coins earned.
Failure: Nothing.]
The blue glow from the window reflected on the tense faces.
The wind blew gently over the river, causing the translucent bridge suspended in midair to tremble.
A new trial was beginning.
Some of the survivors saw the new puzzle as nothing more than an opportunity to get richer.
They stared at the still-open window, their eyes shining at the sight of the number of coins to be won.
"Twenty thousand coins..." one of them whispered with a grin. "You could almost forget that we're risking our lives here. "
But others, less blinded by the reward, leaned toward the void. And suddenly, their confidence crumbled.
"But wait, this is much higher than Rainbow Bridge, isn't it?" someone said, their voice trembling.
A tense silence fell. They all looked up at the bridge in front of them, a huge translucent walkway suspended in midair, without railings, swaying gently in the wind.
Below, the ocean roared. Its colossal waves crashed against invisible reefs, spraying salty mist into the air.
The chasm was at least three hundred meters high.
Looking down gave the impression of being sucked into the abyss.
Some backed away, unable to bear the sight of the gaping void. Others swallowed silently, their hands clammy, trying to hide their fear.
The bridge, a pale, almost ghostly blue, vibrated gently under their feet.
And the very idea of having to cross it, unprotected, above this raging sea, was enough to make them dizzy, even with the promise of twenty thousand coins.
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the roar of the wind above the ocean.
Then, a clear voice rose among the survivors.
"We must think before we act," said a calm-looking man, raising his hand to ease the tension. "This bridge is not there for us to rush headlong across. If we want to survive, we must find a way, together."
A few nods of approval rippled through the group. Some seemed relieved that someone was finally taking the lead. But no sooner had he finished than another man stepped forward, a wry smile on his lips.
"Think, huh?" he said contemptuously. "You want to play the moralizing hero now? You think we're going to follow you just because you speak calmly?"
The leader frowned.
"This isn't a competition," he replied. "If we share our ideas, maybe we can..."
But the other man ignored him completely. He continued walking, his footsteps echoing against the glass of the bridge, without even looking back.
Then he raised his hand, and a thin azure glow enveloped his arm.
"You're wasting your time arguing," he said smugly. "I've invested my coins wisely."
He swiped his stats window open with a quick gesture.
[Magic Acceleration activated.]
"This power allows me to increase my speed. I can run faster than the speed of sound now." "
He gave the group a smug smile, his gaze defiant.
"So while you're chatting about the best strategy, I'm going to cross this bridge and collect the coins before you do."
And without waiting for a response, he began jogging toward the bridge entrance, his eyes shining with arrogant confidence, convinced that cooperation was a luxury reserved for the weak.
The man took a deep breath, his muscles tensed, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
He looked like a sprinter on an invisible starting line.
"Watch closely," he said with a predatory smile. "This is how you do it when you're not afraid."
He leaned forward slightly, his fingers almost brushing the shiny floor of the bridge.
A moment later, he leaped.
A violent gust tore through the air, kicking up dust and steam.
The bridge shook under the force of his departure, and those left behind had just enough time to shield their faces from the blast he created.
Where he had been standing, only a thick cloud of silver smoke remained, tracing a moving line halfway across the deck.
But suddenly, a sharp crack echoed.
The deck, which until then had been tinged with a calm blue, suddenly turned blood red.
The flashes of light cracked at a terrifying speed, and in a flash, the structure gave way.
"What?!" someone shouted.
It was too late.
The man, carried away by his momentum, didn't even have time to realize what was happening.
The ground gave way beneath his feet, and he fell, his cry drowned out by the wind.
But before he even hit the water, a colossal shadow emerged from the depths.
A monstrous wave split the surface, followed by a titanic head: the Cetus.
Its skin glistened a dark blue, dotted with translucent scales resembling glass plates. Its eyes, enormous and white, seemed almost human in their expression of cruel intelligence.
It opened its mouth, a gaping cavern lined with fangs as long as sabers.
A low roar echoed throughout the space.
Then, in a single movement, it closed its jaws on the falling man's body.
There was a sharp crack, followed by a red splash.
The victim's arm, torn clean off, spun through the air before falling back into the waves, splashing the sea with blood-tinged foam.
The Cetus slowly sank beneath the waves, its dripping jaws closing with a guttural growl.
Silence fell over the broken deck.
Even the wind seemed to have stopped.
No one dared move.
Faces were frozen, pale. Some trembled, others looked away, unable to bear the scene they had just witnessed.
They had just realized that here, the slightest mistake would cost them their lives.
Reo stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the foam dissipate on the surface of the ocean.
A thin smile appeared on his face.
"If only he had been a little more patient," he murmured calmly. "He would have waited for me to reveal that the x in the statement referred to... the number of people. "
Silence answered him, heavy, almost suffocating.
No one dared speak, the survivors still frozen, staring into the gaping void where the bridge had just broken.
A woman, her voice trembling, finally stammered:
"You mean... it takes between two and three people to cross?"
Reo nodded slowly, without taking his eyes off her.
Then, with a more sincere smile:
"Exactly. That's one of the two conditions for crossing the bridge. "
He took a step forward, looking strangely relaxed, almost serene, while the rest of the group remained paralyzed.
The sea breeze was still blowing, carrying the metallic smell of blood and the more acrid smell of salt water.
The others looked at each other without saying a word.
Some clenched their fists, others looked away so as not to face reality.
They had just seen a man die in horrific circumstances.
Where fear reigned, Reo, impassive, was already setting out to find a solution.