Chapter 2: The Weeklong Top Student Camp: Logic Tower

Sunday night. We arrived at the school with our baggage full of clothes and other necessities for one week. The cold breeze of the wind was giving me chills. It was past six at night, the sky was already covering by a pitched black color. The usually crowded school at day became a ghost town. You could even hear the sound of the wind that was usually silent in crowd.

This isn’t unusual, but it I can’t get myself use to it. Schools are supposed to be enjoying after all.

At the registration area, Devin and I both registered at the same time. We were placed in a same room. You could sense the competitiveness and the penetrating atmosphere that you’d never want to feel.

“Oh, by any chance, are you Kuro?” Asked by the guy in black, thick and comfy coat. His hair was grey like an old man but he's got face. The guy in front of me right now was the current holder of the top spot, Ian Stein.

“That's right. May I help you?”

Why would he suddenly approach? I'll stand out at this point.

“There are rumors that you slept with a higher up just to climb the honor spot,” he said with a grin.

Students’ gaze became even more intense and penetrating after hearing what Ian said. He surely likes standing out.

I laughed sarcastically, “Do you actually believe that?”

This guy is pissing me off. Why would I sleep with someone? I'm just a fifteen-year-old student. You believe me, right?

“And why are you asking by the way? Want me to sleep with you?” I said while having a scornful smile.

“H-Ha!? Are you seriously saying that right now?”

“See? You're the top student this year. I'm pretty sure you know the truth so stop wandering around spreading baseless rumors.”

“Tch.” Devin clucked his tongue. “Let's go, Kuro.”

We proceeded in our designated room. Due to the large size of the school, the government provided train stations that connected buildings and the center hall. Every building has its own small station.

Only few students managed to join the camp because the certificate and medals you acquired were needed in registration. Students who didn’t manage to reach the general average of 90 couldn’t enter.

“You sure brought a lot of things, Devin.” I gave him a scornful smile.

“I-I thought it wasn’t enough for one week.” Embarrassment was obvious in his face.

He arrived at school holding a large luggage. I almost as if he brought his own foldable bed. Wait—

“Don’t tell me you brought large foldable bed again?”

His eyes couldn’t stare straight to mine.

“For crying out loud.” I gave out a sigh.

“I won’t be able to sleep without it.”

He actually brought it again.

Last year, we both joined a field trip in Baguio. Teachers said we should bring our own tent that is why we decided to find a tent that we could both use. He told me to go home early because he still wanted to wander around the mall. It was already late that time that was why I decided to go home alone. When the camp started, I noticed that he brought a large bag with his assistant. It was a large foldable bed and a large tent.

Really, royals are such pain.

“You shouldn’t have brought that bed,” I said. “We have bed in our designated room.”

Yes, what you heard is right. The government provided beds for student.

“You should have told me earlier!”

“It’s your fault not asking me. Idiot.”

“Huh!?”

After that night, the hell started.

***

“Good day everyone!” he shouted. “Did you have a good night sleep?” The emcee smiled. “I hope you did because today is the start of your hell week.” A sudden grin appeared in his face.

Everyone’s eyes were burning on fire of competitiveness. It was as if their life is in the line and they should do everything to steal the top spot from Ian. Ian was holding the top student’s position until now. It was a year ago when he won and he still managed to build a good reputation as a top student despite being busy.

However, we already know, his personality sucks.

“As you can see in this poster, our today’s even is called ‘Logic Tower.’”

“Logic tower?” Some students asked.

“It will be a test where you should use both of your mind and physical body. The mechanics are simple: answer the logic, and move to the next floors. The Philosophy building will serve as the tower. For every right answer, you will climb five floors using the stairs. The building has 15 floors, which means you will only solve three logics. The bell will ring as signal of your start. That is all. Change your clothes into track suit because you will run for your lives.”

“Run for our lives? That’s some scary words Sir!” Student who seemed interested in the emcee said.

Really, why do girls at my age are interested with guys who are older than them? Well, I can’t blame them, I would not enter a relationship with an immature partner.

We arrived at the starting line wearing tracksuits. They didn’t say how many kilometers we are going to run to reach the philosophy building. You cldou still feel the competitiveness of every honor students who joined. As expected, Ian was drawing much attention.

We should not get ourselves involved to him as much as we can. We might get in trouble.

The bell started ringing as a sign that we should start. The few students who joined dashed without any hesitation just to reach the building. Ian, Devin, and I arrived at the same time.

A expected, the elevators are blocked and the only way up are the long stairs at the left, right, and the center of the building.

At the center of the first floor, a man wearing an eyeglass and in black suit was waiting for us.

“Welcome, students,” he said, his deep voice was echoing in the first floor. It was as if it was resonating in my body; I got chills.

“Please tell me the logic already! I need to reach the top as soon as possible!” Devin said, seemed rushing.

“Don’t be too excited, Devin. They might deduct points,” I said.

“Is that so?” He was wearing a dumb face.

“Heh… I see that you are in rush. So let me tell you the logic now,” he smiled. “You were dead yesterday, you are alive today, what about tomorrow?”

“Hmm…”

Ian was thinking more than I thought he would.

What kind of logic is this? If I am dead yesterday, alive today, and what about tomorrow? Is this somehow connected to the reincarnation theory? Now that I think of it, I saw the news last time saying they found an invisible part of the brain and they call it ‘soul.’ They said that it is where memories are stored. Hmm… if this is connected to it, then they started this game with a simple logic.

“There is no right or wrong answer, right?” I said.

They looked at me with confused expression.

“Are you an idiot?” Ian suddenly spoke. “The answer is you are dead.”

“The answer is you are alive,” said Devin.

We arrived in different conclusions, huh?

“Heh… I see, you arrived in different conclusions then,” he again smiled. “Explain your side.”

We should explain our answer. What a pain.

“Then, I guess I should explain first,” I said. “If you were dead yesterday, and still alive today, of course tomorrow is still unsure. That is why I can say that there is no right or wrong answer.”

I made my explanation short as I could.

“Heh…, what about you?” The man’s gaze pointed to Ian’s direction.

“Everyone will die when tomorrow comes,” he said. “Death is sure,” he added.

He also made his explanation short. Maybe he’s in rush because he knows that other students are about to arrive.

“Hmm… what about you?” His eyes pointed to Devin.

“It doesn’t make sense. Why are you still alive when you were dead yesterday? If you are going to reverse the question, you are alive tomorrow and today, and yesterday is your death.” He smiled confidently.

We are running into circles. I will take back what I said earlier, this question isn’t easy at all. We arrived in different conclusions but we seem to have the same answer.

“Hmm…, you can now advance to the next floor, but you should go in separate ways. The one who said you are dead will go on the left stairs, the one who chose neutral would climb the center, and the one who said you are alive will climb the right stairs. You should go now or else, the other students will catch up,” he said, having a grin.

We dashed and reached the stairs that we were going to climb to reach the fifth floor. You could say that I am the one who got the right answer because I got the upper hand when it comes to time. We answered the logic at the center of the first floor, which means the entrance of the center stairs was also there. But even if we say I got the upper hand, I am still not confident with my stamina. Climbing ten stairs is quite draining.

What a pain.

I climbed the stairs with wide steps. Every step of my feet take three steps of the stairs in order to reach the fifth floor in a fast pace. I arrived with my body sweating from a long run, or I should say ‘climb.’ I never thought climbing stairs without a break would be so tiring. Technology really makes out body weak.

I wish I had time to build up some muscles.

A woman in dark dress was waiting for me at the center of the fifth floor. It seems like Devin and Ian are still making their way up. What’s with their color-coding? Is someone dead or what?

“Welcome, young boy.” Her lips were painted in red. Her eyes are big like a ten-peso coin and her tawny hair was waving with the wind. And she’s t-thick.

Don’t think of any perverted ideas, I’m just trying my best to describe her, okay?

“Let us not waste your time.” She smiled with her thick lips. “Your friend was placed in a box with toxic and nontoxic material. Is your friend dead or not?”

Devin and Ian arrived before the woman had her question finished.

“I repeat. Your friend was placed in a box with a toxic and nontoxic material. Is your friend dead or not?”

What is this logic? If someone is placed in a box with a toxic material that could kill him and a material that is harmless to him, doesn’t it mean he will still dies because the harmless material doesn’t have effect on him while the harmful material can kill him?

No, no, no. no. Is there a theory behind this question? Something that they read and came up with this logic. What could it be?

“The answer is simple,” said Devin.

Is he a genius or what? I bet even Ian is having a hard time answering this question. This weeklong top student camp is different from what he took. Last year, there was news that one of the conductors of this camp was somehow connected to him. If I were to ask myself if that’s true, I’d probably say “how would I know?” It was just a rumor anyways.

“Then what is it, young man?”

“The answer is my friend is alive.”

Eh?

“And why?” The woman was smiling.

“He can put the nontoxic material to the toxic material. Won’t is be easy for him?”

“I see. You can now proceed to the next floor using the center stairs.”

Did he get the right answer? I have noticed that they will give the way that is near to the questioner or the person who will give the logic to the person who will get the right answer. However, giving the center stairs to you won’t mean you got the upper hand. There are three ways to climb the next floor, which means there is no guarantee that you got the right stair if you still haven’t reached the next five floors.

Devin then proceeded to the next five floors.

“My answer is he’s dead.” Ian was having a serious expression.

Did we come up with the same conclusion this time?

“And why?”

“Imagine being placed in a box, and there is a toxic substance that can kill you and a harmless substance. Harmless substance won’t affect you, which means the only thing that affects you is the harmful substance. That is why I came up with the conclusion that my friend is dead.”

“You have a point. You can now proceed to the right stairs.”

Right side? No, no, no, I should be thinking about my answer right now. The other students will catch up soon. But how will I escape this situation. Ian and I arrived in a same conclusion. Wait… if this is somehow connected to that theory, I might get the right answer.

“What about you? You should hurry up, some students are climbing this floor now.”

“My answer is…”

“…”

“You won’t know the answer until you open the box.”

“Heh….”

“Should I explain why?”

“No. That’s enough, you can now proceed to the left side.

I dashed on the right side of the building and run again for my life. Are you curious how did I get the right answer? I’m sorry, I am too tired to explain, I’ll leave it to your mind.

While running, at the middle of the fifth stair, I ran out of stamina and slowed down. I know I should be hurrying, but I almost lost my balance and fall. There’s no time for rest. I might have the right answer but it doesn’t mean I got the upper hand, those two might get there early.

Without thinking about my stamina, I rapidly ran. I took three steps of stairs as I run and without wasting any time, I dashed to the questioner who was already talking to Devin and Ian. Some students were able to catch up.

Right now, we were at the final stage of the logic tower. The final stage was located on the roof. The sun was shining amidst the sky, making the sky bright. My sweat was making my body cold when the wind breezes. It’s normal right? Regulating our body’s temperature is also one of our sweat’s purposes.

I know it sounds gross.

“You’re late, Kuro.”

“Are you out of energy now? Poor you,” said Ian.

“Don’t talk to me,” I said, reaching my breath.

I took a deep breath and listened to the questioner.

“This is the final logic.” She smiled. “So you better prepare yourselves.”

Right now, there are total of ten people who are with me in this roof. Nine were the students who managed to reach the final stage, and the questioner. You could sense the tension even though we are doing this outdoor.

“The final logic will determine how fast you could think.” A grin appeared in her face. “Now!”

A sound of closing doors suddenly broke the tension in the roof. It caught the attention of everyone. The doors that we had used to enter the roof was closed, the elevator was blocked, and the emergency stairs, which was 15 stories high that was attached on the left side of the building, was the only way down.

“You are given fifty minutes in this building. The thirty minutes is for you to decide if you are going to use the emergency stairs, the remaining twenty minutes is for me to go down. Now, decide!”

Without hesitation, the six students chose to go down using the fifteen-storey high emergency stairs that was attached to the building. The school made sure that the medics were ready if something happens and for safety measures, the fire protection agency was here to catch in case someone fell.

The remaining three students were Ian, Devin, and me. Did we arrive in the same conclusions this time?

“What about you? Are you going to waste your thirty minutes staying here?”

“Don’t make me laugh. We know the answer,” Devin said.

“Heh... what is your answer then?”

“It’s simple; I am going to leave this building with you, right?” Ian said.

I? He really is selfish, huh?

Ian is right. This logic is simple. The questioner said we have 50 minutes, the 30 minutes is for us to decide if we are going to use the emergency stairs. That part is what made most of students think that they only have 30 minutes to leave this building. However, she said that she has 20 minutes to leave this building, it means she has another way to leave or she waiting for us to use our 30 minutes to leave or wait.

That is what led us to conclusion that this logic is created to test our ability to think in critical situations.

“Then, should we go now?” Her face is having a wide smile, which means we have won the fight.

The results won’t come out today, it will be announced after the whole camp. This day is really tiring, I want to take a bath and sleep now.

“Kuro, let’s eat!” Devin smiled.

“We should take a bath first,” I said.

I don’t want eating while I stink.

***

Worn out, we made sure to have a deep night sleep to prepare out body to the next event that will surely make either my body or mind tired, or both. I still have a weak stamina. If I were to reincarnate someday, I’ll probably work on my body. Having this body isn’t easy. That is why I think it’s ridiculous that I’ll sleep with someone just to climb my way to the top. How did they come up with that rumor anyway? For crying out loud. These people are pissing me off.

After that night, a new morning has arrived.

“Good morning everyone! Are you ready for our next event!?”

The emcee is energetic as usual. I’m still sleepy, and why Devin is late? Is he taking a long dump or what?

I noticed that they made some changes in the in the internal appearance of this hall. It looks like a VR room to me. Maybe the next game is connected to these changes. A large golden-colored treasure chest was perching at the middle of the stage where the emcee is located. It seems like they are about to give something to us.

“Today is the second day you will take a leap to reach the top. I am sure that some of you are still tired. However, don’t let that ember of fire get extinguished. You already made this far, there is no point of turning back now!” he said, his eyes were fired up.

The students’ applause lingered in the hall.

“Now, do you know what event is going today?”

The crowded place suddenly turned into almost-eternal silence.

“It is a game called ‘hide and kill.’”

“H-Hide and kill!?”

I could see the shock and the confusion in everyone’s face.

“Hide and kill, huh?” I muttered.

“You guys will become a hunters and preys. As you can see, we made this hall looks like a large VR room. In this game, your ability to think for a strategy in critical situations is going to be tested. You are given 3 hours to kill as any as you can. If you ever got killed, you will have 30 seconds to revive. Which mean what you only need to do is to kill as many as you can for 3 hours.” He smiled. “Now, open it!”

Two people wearing black suddenly came out behind the black curtains that are covering the back stage. The treasure chest was full of VR boxes and some equipment needed for virtual reality game. Just how much money they spent just to arrange this event?

Devin arrived. He seemed tired and sweating a lot.

“Where have you been?”

“Just somewhere. Is it starting?”

“Yeah. Should I explain the mechanics?”

“No need, someone already told me.”

“O-Okay.”

Someone? I’ve never saw him talk to anyone aside from me. It’s not like I don’t want him to talk to other people aside from me but this is rather unusual. He should have told me if he’s got new friend.

Well, I couldn’t careless either. I need to focus.

The game has started after wearing the equipments they gave us. After wearing the VR box, a message from the system popped out before me.

[Name: Kuro
Race: Human
Weapon: Guns
Ability: High Jump
No. of Death: 0
No. of Kill: 0]

Amazing, it’s like I am really playing inside a game.