The cameras in each room faithfully recorded everything.
The fluorescent light cast a pale glow on Hades' helmet, its smooth, rigid surface reflecting a faint white sheen.
He stood in silence, staring at the massive screen before him. The screen was divided into countless smaller frames, each displaying a brutal struggle between human nature and primal instinct.
In some rooms, violence had already begun.
Hades sighed soundlessly and marked those rooms with a "Tentatively Disqualified" label.
He had not told the participants how long the second round of selection would last.
Nor did the sealed rooms contain anything that could be used to measure time.
Furthermore, the food portions in each room had been precisely calculated—just barely enough to sustain every individual at the lowest survival threshold for the duration of the trial.
As death approached slowly but surely, would anyone hold their ground?
Hades watched in silence.
<+>
Antaeus stood behind Io, clutching several small knives in his hands.
Blood trickled from his forearm, but it was clear—he had won.
Both he and Io now each held a knife, and Antaeus had even managed to secure a decent amount of food.
Across from them, the remaining children clutched varying amounts of food, huddling in different corners of the room.
"Everyone, I have an idea," Io spoke up.
Antaeus noticed the slight tremor in his voice.
"I think I might have figured out the purpose of this trial."
A murmur spread through the group. Suspicion and doubt flickered in their wary eyes.
Io exhaled.
"I don't think they would set up two trials to test the same quality."
"If they were only testing endurance and physical strength, the first trial already accomplished that."
"So this trial isn't about resilience or physical ability."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"This trial is different from the last one because we were deliberately split into small groups and locked in an enclosed space."
"At first, I thought this meant we were supposed to fight to the death and determine a winner."
"And,"
Io lifted the knife in his hand.
"These weapons further support that assumption."
"But—"
Io suddenly let go.
The knife clattered against the floor with a sharp, crisp sound.
"I don't think that's the real purpose."
"The knives are merely a distraction—a deception."
Antaeus blinked slowly. He had a feeling he knew what Io was about to say.
"Think about what the overseer said in his hints—he never once mentioned killing or competition."
"On the contrary, the very first thing he emphasized was 'You are human.'"
"And in his second statement, he used words like 'fight together.'"
"If we are meant to be comrades in the future, they wouldn't want us to slaughter each other now."
"So my theory is—this trial is designed to filter out those who can, on their own, choose cooperation and unity in adversity."
Across from them, the other children began murmuring, some of them clearly deep in thought.
"Then why did you two still grab the knives?"
A sharp voice rang out.
Antaeus recognized the speaker—it was the same boy who had tried to seize a knife alongside him earlier.
When he failed to overpower Antaeus, the boy had quickly switched tactics, scrambling for food instead.
Io opened his mouth to respond, but Antaeus pressed a firm hand on his shoulder.
Stepping forward, Antaeus knew exactly what he needed to say.
"I can return the knives to all of you."
"Or, we can place them in a communal area."
"But I believe Io is right."
"If they wanted us to kill each other, the overseer wouldn't have needed to give us any hints at all."
Antaeus paused for a moment, then crouched down and carefully placed each knife he held back onto the ground.
He also placed the rations he had taken next to them.
Antaeus knew he wasn't the smartest, but he trusted Io's reasoning.
The overseer's words had been a clue—an indirect hint.
But what if Io was wrong? What if they really were meant to fight? What if the rations were only enough for a few people?
What would he do then?
Even so, Antaeus chose to trust his own judgment.
"We should redistribute the food."
He said firmly,
"Everyone, put your food back. I'll go first."
But after Antaeus stepped forward, no one else followed.
"That guy is still holding a knife. You're just trying to hoard the food for yourselves, aren't you?"
Io hesitated. He hadn't expected Antaeus to act so decisively. But after a moment of gritted teeth, he too knelt down and placed the last of his knives on the ground.
Antaeus blinked and tried his best to appear steady and dependable.
"Everyone, put your food back."
"I was the one who climbed to the mountain's peak. I hope you can trust me just this once."
As he spoke, Antaeus' face burned. He wasn't used to talking about himself in front of others. It felt like bragging. It felt… strange.
No one moved at first.
Then, after a long silence, a single person stepped forward, placed their food back, and turned away.
Slowly, more followed.
But some still held onto their food, unwilling to let go.
"Heh, hey, my friends!"
A loud, carefree voice rang out from the corner.
Only then did the children—who had been focused on the food in the center—realize something was wrong.
They had completely overlooked the water source.
It had already been taken.
"Go put your food back."
Lerna pointed at the pile in front of Io and Antaeus.
"Or none of you are getting any water."
He grinned, staring directly at those who still clung to their rations.
Some hesitated. Others moved as if they might try to seize the water source by force.
"Don't come any closer."
Bast stood his ground, head lowered, body tense in a fighter's stance. But his sharp gaze never left the boys approaching him.
"I... I also reached the mountain's peak."
His voice was quiet but firm.
That was enough.
Most hesitated.
Surviving the thick, toxic gas and making it to the summit—those who had done so were not people to be trifled with.
And so, grudgingly, the remaining children placed their food back as well.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Io and Antaeus carefully redistributed the rations.
"Thank you all for trusting us."
Antaeus said.
"I'll take the last turn for water. Give it to those who need it most first."
Whispers spread throughout the room, but this time, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease slightly.
Taking advantage of the ongoing discussions, Io quietly placed the knives by the door.
Now that everyone had equal portions of food, the children began to talk amongst themselves, exchanging thoughts. But the topic that dominated the discussion was how to pass this trial.
<+>
"This group is not bad."
Mortarion's voice came from behind. Both he and Hades were watching the children intently.
"Indeed."
To Hades' surprise, while many rooms had devolved into immediate bloodshed, and others had seen individuals snatch food and scatter—there was a significant portion of children who had chosen to redistribute the supplies.
Some had seized control of the overlooked water source first and used it to coerce the others into sharing food.
Some had secured the knives early on and used force to demand fair distribution.
Of course, many had also leveraged the water and weapons to extort food for themselves.
Only those who had understood Hades' subtle hints chose to enforce a genuine redistribution.
The placement of water and knives was, at its core, a test—designed for a select few to claim dominance over the group.
First, the children needed to be smart enough to decipher Hades' words.
Then, they had to be strong enough to secure at least one resource in their favor.
Compared to these, food—while important—was clearly secondary to water and weapons.
But… there were exceptions.
In one room, a single child had knocked everyone unconscious and then evenly distributed the food himself.
In another, a child took nothing—he simply delivered a speech, and the others willingly agreed to a fair redistribution.
There were countless methods used, but what mattered was that many candidates had stepped up to urge cooperation over conflict.
As for the group Mortarion had just pointed out—
Hades glanced at them.
They had teamed up right from the start, split up to take control of the two most critical resources, and then leveraged their status to manage the situation.
Impressive.
Truly impressive.
This was the optimal solution.
Hades quietly memorized the names and details of the four children.
"But the real challenge lies ahead."
Hades spoke.
Performing well in the early stages was easy—resources were still relatively abundant, and the true desperation of survival had yet to set in.
But when the trial dragged into the later stages…
Hades focused on the rooms where redistribution had already been achieved.
Would they still hold on to their ideals?
<+>
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