NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 – The Boy’s Words
“You’ll be dying here.”
…
What..?
…
I stared at the boy.
You…
Then anger began to swell up within me.
Fucking brat.
I curled my hand into a fist.
You… Spouting such bullshit…
You don’t even understand the pain I’ve been through.
I’ve been in this place for an hour, and there’s nothing I can do.
I glared at the boy, but he continued smiling.
God damnit…
What did I do…
To deserve this..?
I thought of everything that has happened to me so far.
Damn it, my entire day…
First it was my ex-girlfriend, Delilah. Who had bothered me during lunch and ruined my day.
Then there was that narcissistic landmine girl who almost castrated me.
Now it’s a fucking disfigured spider monster that’s chasing me in a surreal storage room.
Truly.
This was the worst day of my life.
In the dark, surrounded in a seemingly endless room…
With no idea what to do…
Then, again, the boy opened his mouth,
“Truly unfortunate…”
What?
“Your circumstances, it would be a lie to say I don’t pity you.”
…
I stared at the boy.
He looked at me, all confused,
“Hmmm? Something wrong?”
Wait a second.
You…
Did you read my thoughts..?
The boy clapped his hands.
Clap!
He opened his arms out wide and tilted his head.
“Well, what do you think?”
Shit!
I looked around to see if the monster was alerted.
I gestured with my finger towards my lips.
Hey! Don’t make too much noise!
“It’s okay. I’m merely a spectator.
They won’t, and can’t acknowledge me.”
Spectator?
What..?
“But you on the other hand…”
The boy raised his hand and pointed towards the darkness behind him with his thumb.
“He’s not gonna let you go.”
Then pointed back at me.
“The Evaluator’s after you, not me.
Understand?”
… I’m confused.
Evaluator?
Why’d you give that disgusting creature such a nickname?
“Do I really need to explain?
It’s as the name suggests… It’s evaluating you.
And you’re not the first person to get here.
Many people have died in this place.”
Seriously… What is going on?!
“The way you are now, you’ll never leave this place.”
… Never?
“As I said before, it’s useless.
You’ll die in here.”
Hey…
Do you know…
What’s going on?
The kid sighed,
“Yes, but I’m not going to help you.
There’s no benefit.
Even if I tell you what to do, you’ll just half-ass the process.”
Then what am I supposed to do?!
The boy, still grinning, brought his hand up.
Looking directly at my face, he gestured towards his head with his index finger.
“You have good perception, shrewdness, and intelligence.
I can see why the Evaluator chose you as a candidate.”
Candidate? For what?
Am I…
Being tested right now?
By that monster of all things?!
It’s literally trying to kill me!
“To be honest, you’re quite promising.
So…
I don’t think the Boss would mind if I gave a dead man some hints.”
The Boss? Hints?
I’ll ask about who the boss is later, but most importantly…
You’re saying… You’ll help me?!
“Not precisel-”
Tell me how to get out of this place now!
What do I need to do to reach the emergency exit?!
The boy frowned,
“See what I mean?
Even now…
You’re not thinking about the most important thing.”
What exactly am I supposed to think about other than escaping?!
The boy sighed and then asked me,
“Tell me, would a warrior fight a battle if he has nothing to fight for?”
… What?
“Will a doctor save lives if they do not have compassion for human life?”
…
“Take as an example a professional artist…
Yes, they can create exceptional pieces of art by utilizing their skills.
But can they really create a masterpiece if they do not incorporate any passion and dedication?”
I don’t understand.
Why are you asking me this?
The boy smiled,
“Have you not noticed?
You’ve been running away from your problems.
And everytime…
You’ve suppressed your inner desires.”
My inner desires?
I… I don’t understand.
“Your inability to acknowledge yourself is limiting your potential.”
Acknowledgement…
“You searched for light from your phone, and then that light betrayed you.
Searching for the light from something other than yourself.
Now you're just running in circles...
As it stands, you will forever be lost in this darkness.”
…
“This is a trial.
Right now, you are failing miserably.”
The boy closed his eyes, and fell backwards.
Submerging himself into the darkness, he vanished away from my vision.
…
I don’t understand.
But, clearly he didn't just give me empty words…
He gave me a hint.
So this is a test, and the monster’s the evaluator..?
…
What's it testing me on?
And why should the exit be the least of my concerns?
…
The kid just dropped a bombshell of information.
My brain was currently trying to process this information.