Chương 17: Chapter 16 - The Wall (II)

July 31, 2024 - Headquarters of the United Nations, New York, US The technician looked awkwardly from Marshall Viktor to Elena, but both remained silent. After a couple of seconds that tensed the atmosphere, Viktor glanced at him.

"No need for a video this time as little would it tell. I can explain it myself."

"The third floor, popularly known as The Quiet Room, is very similar to the first. It has no outstanding features. The difference, however, lies in how the participants react after entering this room: they remain still, motionless in a standing position."

"Now, as time goes on, measured in several hours, some participants simply disappear as if they exit The Tower, or in other words, lose the challenge. Other participants manage to come back to their senses after roughly the same time, some a couple of minutes before or after, not strictly the same time but in the same range.

Now, those that come back start looking around as if lost, but upon a certain realization they have, a barrel with water and food appears in the middle of the room, similar to that in the room below. This happens rather quickly for some participants, and after a certain time for others. However, a small number of participants remain lost even after coming back, and the food and stairs never appear for them. Eventually, they die after dehydration or self-mutilation."

Viktor grinned as he looked around, gazing at those seated at the oval table.

"Now the interesting part is: What was the challenge? Well, that question, unlike most others, we can actually answer. I will leave the word with Madam Secretary-General Morales."

"Thank you, Viktor," she smiled at him, her eyes conveying a completely different meaning.

"I see you have described all but the most essential part of the test. I suppose Mister… SkabidyTester? Well, our young streamer could not help with this—""Well, actually he does," interrupted Viktor.

"But it's not his best video. I would prefer a more professional opinion for this one," he chuckled. Madam Secretary-General Morales continued after an imperceptible frown, "Very well. The third floor is very different from those before, at least from an outsider's point of view. As mentioned by Marshal Ivanov, the live feeds from these tests showed very little. In this case, the key information came from those participants who came back, both those who succeeded and those who did not."

"From the limited information we have, as less than 24 hours have passed since the first of the reported returnees from the third test or further arrived, we have observed some disturbing trends. Almost all who failed the third floor were deeply traumatized, displaying extremely violent behavior. This has resulted in more than a few casualties, making the information available from this test rather poor."

"The returnees that did not succeed in the test of the third floor exhibited proficient combat skills upon their return. However, these skills were not polished or refined; they were savage and barbaric, as if they had been fighting for survival in a brutal, primitive environment," she paused, giving gravity to her words, "which is not entirely false."

"Going straight to the point, the test was a mental one. We are not sure if it was an induced dream or something more profound we cannot comprehend, but the fact is the participants confirmed they were fighting dozens of the white creatures non-stop, one after the other. But that was not the hard part; the hard part came in the form of the so-called orbs. And now that I mention it, I believe we skipped their mention on the previous floor," she looked at Viktor specifically.

"Well, you saw SkibidiTester, he mentioned it," he grinned, "and there are better floors to talk about those orbs anyway."

"As I was saying," Elena continued, unbothered, "the real test came in the form of these orbs. As described by those who came back, these spheres that appeared after the white creatures were slain granted… power, so to say, to those that absorbed them. This power was described as an overall physical and mental enhancement.

Since the incident is too recent, we have not had enough time to conduct appropriate tests on the returnees, and we cannot say how or why, but," she paused again, "we can confirm this enhancement is real." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Elena noticed that some of the attendees wanted to intervene.

"I understand that a lot of sensitive information has been shared that warrants discussion, but please let me conclude with the description of the test before we start the debate," she smiled as she saw everyone leaning back and nodding.

"Thank you. So, the orbs were, in essence, the real test, as you can imagine the sort of addiction gaining this power brings. The average human under this constant state of killing and gaining power will soon fall into a state of frenzy and lust for violence and hunger for power that will not be satiated, and, if they do not stop," she paused again, "they die in this dream from what we believe is physical overexertion.

While the orbs grant strength, it has been confirmed that they do not replace food or water as necessary nutrients for the body, nor do they seem to regenerate the state of the body, with the exception of the first orb."

"To continue, those that managed to recover their sense of self in this dream-like state are then brought back to reality where they regain control of their body, the one we can see on the screens. And well, the test is not over quite yet. As mentioned by Marshall Ivanov, some that returned never managed to see the stairs or the fruits and the barrel of water. This is because the test had another phase.

We could only gather information on this part from the very limited number of returnees that passed the third floor and have reported so far. So the idea, according to them, is that the trial is finished not just when you come back, but when you realize the reason for which you came back and the fact you were being tested. Acknowledging all that is what concludes the challenge and grants passage to the next floor." General Reed leaned forward, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Thank you, Secretary-General. To tell the truth, one of the most concerning matters I have heard in the last few hours before coming here were exactly these orbs and the so-called enhancement of the human body. I also understand you mentioned the matter is still under investigation, but may I ask, how big of an enhancement are we talking about? Is it just making the average human more capable, like a fit athlete or trained soldier, or are we perhaps talking about… superhuman capabilities?

My concern is, if these returnees keep getting stronger then when they come back—""Thank you, General," Elena interrupted.

"But we are also getting prepared for that. And it is one of the most important topics of this meeting here today, the reason why we will leave it for the second part of the meeting after the coffee break as scheduled in today's agenda. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I understand, Madam," Reed nodded.

"We have," Elena glanced at her watch, "15 minutes left. Are there any additional questions related to this third test?"

"You mentioned the first orb regenerated the body while the others did not," Viktor suddenly said.

"How can you confirm this? From what I have gathered, data seems insufficient to make such a claim as of now."

"We have the data, Marshall," Elena smiled.

"As I mentioned earlier in the meeting, we will make this data available to all after we conclude. I will just point out that this information came from more than one trustworthy source concerning events on the fourth floor, or, as you like to call them by the popular names online, The Arena." What was he supposed to do here? He stared at the two buttons, both identical and placed symmetrically in the now rather narrow room.

He understood, or at least had a good guess, that he was supposed to press one of the two buttons, but the problem was: which one? There was no way to tell them apart. Maybe each one led to a different test? Maybe one was hard and the other easy, and it was all up to luck? That would be a very possible scenario, if only this were a game. But this was not. Whatever this was, it had a clear purpose: to test him. Each floor was designed in such a way, and he was certain this would be no different.

But then, what was the test here? Maybe each button led to the same outcome and the test was just a matter of resolve, pressing one unafraid of the consequences. Perhaps all it took was that: walk and press it. But... why that now? Why such a test at this point? He calmly sat, reclining his back against the wall. Truth was, he was already hungry. Not unbearably so, and not so hungry as to limit his mental or physical capabilities, but he certainly felt it.

The fruits he ate on the second and third floors were good, but the intense toll he faced in the ring back on the floor below, coupled with all that disgusting ooze coming from his body and then the gray vomit, had left him feeling hungry. He looked at the wall and the buttons. He hoped that food would be given after this trial. He needed it. That said, he could not let hunger cloud his thoughts. He had a hunch this apparently 'simple' test was far from such.