Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss

Mr. Gideon's cheerful voice boomed across the field, silencing the whispers and chatter among the participants, He smiled down at them.

"Congratulations to the 370 of you who made it this far!" he announced, clapping his hands together. "You've proven your resilience, strength, and determination. But now, we're at the FINAL TEST!"

The participants looked at each other, some murmuring in excitement, others in apprehension.

"The final test is simple!" Mr. Gideon continued, his smile widening. "In fact, it's the easiest one yet!"

Murmurs broke out instantly among the crowd:

"Easiest? What does he mean?"

"This must be a trick, right? No way the final test is actually easy."

"Maybe it's a battle royale?"

Mr. Gideon raised his hand, calling for silence. "Before I explain the test, you need to form groups of five! Choose wisely, as your success depends on teamwork."

The murmurs grew louder. Participants began scrambling to form groups. Friends grabbed friends, and strong contenders looked for others with equal power.

Andrew grabbed Seojun by the sleeve and pulled him closer to Lila, who stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the frantic crowd.

"This is bad," Andrew muttered, scanning the chaos around them. "They're all avoiding us."

Lila snorted, clenching her fists.

"Good! Who needs them? We can handle this on our own," she said loudly enough for others nearby to hear.

The group of bullies from earlier laughed as they huddled together, whispering. Their leader smirked, throwing a mocking glance at Lila and her friends.

"Let's just wait until there are only two people left," Seojun said calmly. He sat down on a small rock, pulling out an apple from his pocket and taking a bite as if he had all the time in the world.

Andrew sighed, sitting beside him. "Guess we don't have a choice but to wait."

As they waited, Andrew turned to Seojun. "If we're 370 and group into five. Then the total groups are... Hmmm" he started counting and Seojun muttered "74 groups"

"Really? Wait you're right. Damn so many anyway Seojun, what do you think this 'easiest' final test is about? Any idea?"

Seojun didn't respond, focusing on his apple. Before Andrew could press him, Lila cut in sharply.

"Are you an idiot? Why would you even ask him? How would he know?"

Andrew scratched his cheek, looking awkward. "Uh, yeah, I guess you're right…"

It was clear that Lila was still upset, her irritation spilling into every word. Andrew decided not to say anything else, and the three of them sat in silence, watching the other participants scramble for teammates.

Few minutes passed, and all the groups had been formed. Andrew looked around, noticing that their group was still incomplete and said, "I'll go look for the two," and left.

Lila sighed and glanced at Seojun, who was still calmly sitting on the rock, eating his apple. Without a word, she turned and walked off in a different direction to find the remaining members.

A few minutes later, Andrew returned with a woman following behind him, her expression cold and unwelcoming. At the same time, Lila came back with a man, who also seemed less than thrilled to join them.

The two new members clearly didn't want to be part of their group. They kept quiet, avoiding eye contact with Andrew, Lila, or Seojun.

Andrew tried to break the silence, smiling nervously. "So, um, what's your name—"

Before he could finish, both of them shot him icy glares. Startled, Andrew immediately shut his mouth and looked down, embarrassed.

The two then turned their attention to Seojun, who glanced at them with a cold, piercing gaze. They immediately looked away, feeling a strange pressure in the air.

The woman whispered to the man, "Did you feel that too brother?"

The man, who appeared to be her brother, nodded. "Yeah, but I'm fine now. That was… weird."

The woman glanced back at Seojun, her thoughts racing. 'Did he do that? But how?'

'It's must be someone doings, It's impossible for him to do that' The man thought.

Suddenly, a large screen appeared above them, and Mr. Gideon's cheerful face filled the display. His sharp eyes scanned the crowd, and he smiled as though he were enjoying the tension.

"Now that everyone has their groups, let's get started with the final test!" His booming voice silenced the murmurs among the participants.

As he spoke, another screen appeared beside him. It showed three marbles in different colors: blue, red, and yellow.

"For this test," Mr. Gideon continued, "your goal is simple. Each group must find one blue marble, one red marble, and one yellow marble. Once your group has all three marbles, you'll pass. But there's a catch—you must have these marbles in your possession before sunset. If you don't, your group is eliminated."

Murmurs broke out among the participants.

"So we just have to find some marbles? Sounds easy."

"But where are they? They must be hidden somewhere…"

"What if another group has the marbles we need?"

One of the bullies from earlier raised his hand. "Mr. Gideon! Can we snatch marbles from other groups?" he asked with a sly grin.

The crowd erupted into louder murmurs.

"Snatch? Is that allowed?"

"This could get messy…"

"Of course he'd ask something like that."

The bully turned to Lila and smirked, his grin full of malice. Lila muttered under her breath, "Bastard."

Mr. Gideon's smile didn't falter as he raised a hand for silence. "You may use any means necessary to get the marbles," he said, "but there is only one rule: no killing each other."

The murmurs grew louder, filled with mixed emotions.

"No killing, huh? That still leaves a lot of options…"

"What if someone targets me? I can't fight someone stronger!"

"Ha! No one's going to snatch my marbles. They'd regret trying!"

Andrew frowned, feeling a dark atmosphere spreading among the participants. "This is definitely not the easiest test for us," he said quietly, sensing the ill intent radiating from some of the stronger groups.

Meanwhile, the siblings in their group exchanged worried glances. The man muttered, "Why did we end up with this group?"

The woman groaned softly. "We've come this far, and now we're stuck with them? We're doomed!"

Their frustration was clear, but there was no way out. The test had begun, and the only way to survive was to work together—or so they thought.