As Cinister broke the hug, a thought crossed his mind."Hey how are we supposed to get to the 8th floor, then?"
"Great question," Alya replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll ask around," Ragna said, groggily sitting up from the long nap he'd just finished.
"Oh, you're finally awake, huh?" Cinister said with a smirk.
"Shut up," Ragna shot back, scowling.
"Whatever you say," Cinister replied, chuckling.
Ragna quickly headed outside, weaving through the crowd as he asked people and even a few aliens if they knew how to access the 8th floor. Eventually, he reached the quest board, where a bored-looking receptionist looked up and said,"Well, you just need to complete 3 medium-difficulty or above quests."
Ragna, armed with the new information, made his way back to the house. But something felt off.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Guys? Are you here?" he called out, stepping inside.
There was no response.
Then he saw it a note left on the desk.
He picked it up and began to read:
"Dear Ragna,
I have kidnapped your friends.If you want to see them again, you'll have to play my little game.Come to this location.
— Unknown"
As Ragna finished reading, a cold chill ran down his spine.His hands tightened around the note.Whoever did this was playing a dangerous game and he wasn't going to let them win.
Ragna followed the coordinates from the note, every step laced with tension. The location turned out to be an abandoned industrial zone on the outskirts of the city—silent, eerie, and blanketed in shadows.
As he turned a corner, a figure emerged from the dim light. An alien, tall and cloaked, stood waiting.
"Hey, Ragna. It's nice meeting you," the mysterious alien said, his voice calm and unsettling.
Ragna clenched his fists, rage flaring in his chest."Where are they?!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the cold, empty air.
The alien tilted his head, almost amused."Oh, don't worry. They're safe for now. But whether they stay that way depends on you."
"Fine what do you want" Ragna said
"Let's play a game," the alien said with a wicked smirk.
A panel slid open behind him, revealing all of Ragna's teammates—Cinister, Alya, Brayden, Michael, and George—each locked inside individual cages. They were conscious, but bound and unable to speak.
Ragna's eyes widened. His heart thudded in his chest.
The alien gestured toward them theatrically. "The rules are simple. We each choose one teammate from the cages. After both picks are made, we reveal them at the same time."
A pause. Then the alien added, his grin widening:"Whosever pick is stronger wins the round."
Ragna's fists clenched. "And if we pick the same person?"
"I win, of course," the alien said smugly, as if that detail was perfectly reasonable.
"And how is 'stronger' decided?"
"Oh, I'm glad you asked." The alien flicked a clawed finger, and a glowing projection lit up the air between them.Strength Order:
Cinister > Ragna > Alya > Brayden > Michael > George
"But," the alien added with a generous tone, "to make things fair for you, I've added a twist George beats Cinister."
"What kind of rule is that?" Ragna snapped.
"The kind that keeps you guessing." He stepped back. "Now… choose. Your friends' lives depend on it."
Ragna's mind raced.Should I pick Cinister? He's the strongest… but if the alien picks him too, I lose the round. This isn't just about power—it's about prediction.
He narrowed his eyes.
"What happens if I lose?" he asked, his voice low.
The alien chuckled, stepping into the glow of the flickering lights. "Oh, we'll play a best of five rounds. Win three, and I'll release your precious team. But if I win three…" He snapped his fingers, and the cages sparked ominously.
"They all die."
Ragna's breath caught in his throat.
"Okay then…" Ragna said, staring at the card in his hand. He wrote one name on it carefully. "I pick George."
The alien chuckled softly and scribbled on his own card.
They stepped forward together.
"On three," the alien said, eyes gleaming. "One… two… three."
They both revealed their cards.
Ragna: George
Alien: Michael
Ragna blinked. Then his eyes widened.Wait he picked Michael?
The alien tilted his head. "Hmm. Unexpected, I know."
Ragna's mind spun.If he had picked Brayden, Alya, me literally anyone except Cinister he would've beaten George. But he chose Michael… and Michael barely wins to George. That means…
Ragna stared down at the revealed cards.
Ragna: CinisterAlien: Cinister
His heart sank.
"I… lost this round," he muttered.
The alien grinned wide, teeth sharp in the dim light. "It's to be expected."
One of the cages buzzed threateningly—Cinister flinched as electricity pulsed around the bars. A warning.
Ragna clenched his fists. He'd gone for power, hoping to dominate the round… but the alien had predicted it perfectly. He was being watched,read.
"Can he read my mind? No... that's impossible," Ragna thought, eyes narrowing.But he's predicting me too well. Maybe he just thinks he knows how I think…
Then an idea sparked.
He picked up the card and, slowly, deliberately, wrote: Cinister.
He stared at it for a long moment, letting the thought linger — like bait.
Then, without a word, he scratched it out and wrote: George.
"I'm ready," Ragna said, voice steady.
The alien smirked, clearly expecting another blunder. "Then let's see it."
They both flipped their cards.
Ragna: GeorgeAlien: Cinister
The alien blinked. His smug expression faltered.
"Wait… I lost?" he said in disbelief.
"I see now the card is a way of telling him what I have wrote so when I switched it he couldn't have predicted it" Ragna thought then in a swift movement he ripped the card and said "Well let's try now without cards"
The Alien freezes "Hold up the cards make it fai-"
"Nah I want to do it withough" Ragna said
3
2
1
Ragna: Cinister
Alien: Nothing
"I win again," Ragna said, arms crossed, staring the alien down.
The alien's brow furrowed. "Wait w-we still need to reveal the cards…"
"Nope," Ragna interrupted, unmoved. "Go ahead. Make your next move. I'm done playing."
A tense silence hung between them.
The alien's smirk twitched then faded.
"Fine," he growled. "I'll release your friends… but just so you know—I will be back."
With a sharp flick of his wrist, the alien dropped a metal key onto the ground. It clattered across the floor and landed near Ragna's feet.
Then, with a flicker of light, the alien vanished.
Ragna wasted no time. He picked up the key and ran to the cages, unlocking them one by one. Each friend stumbled out, dazed but alive.
Cinister stretched his arms and groaned. "Man, it was really tight in that room."
"Speak for yourself," Brayden muttered, rubbing his shoulder.
Michael nodded. "I thought we were done for."
Ragna leaned against the wall, exhausted but relieved. "Let's just… go home."
After everyone got home we had dinner and waited for the next day.
"Damn that test was super easy" said Scrappy
"Well it is when you have someone as strong as him am I right" said Choi
The huge display showed and it said
[Results]
1st place Red Team - Scrappy, Choi and Allen
2nd place Blue Team - (eliminated)
3rd place Green Team - (eliminated)
4th place Yellow Team - (eliminated)
Then the hood of Allen fell down revealing his red hair and blue eyes.
"We will find Cinister and Ragna" said Allen in a cold voice.