Chapter 59: Riddles
"Did I start hallucinating?" Zac said with shock and surprise.
Marty stared at the building in front of them with a deadpan expression. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"System, tell me this isn’t it."
[I’d love to. Unfortunately, it is.]
"You’re sure it’s not one of your pranks?"
[No. This is the place.]
A few minutes ago, when the system had first started giving directions, nothing felt unusual. But the farther they walked, the fewer people they saw.
And now they are standing in front of a run-down bar that looks like it’s one strong breeze away from breaking down.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Marty asked again. "No matter from what angle I look at it, it’s not giving me any academy vibes.
"Beats me." As soon as Zac opened the door and stepped inside, the smell of alcohol was the first thing that filled their nostrils.
The floor creaked under every step, and the benches looked older than Donavan, whom they just saw.
Marty leaned closer. "Isn’t everything in Central City supposed to be luxurious?"
"That’s what I thought too."
[See, I told you, you wouldn’t like what you see.]
Zac ignored the system and looked around.
At the far end of the room sat a muscular old man sleeping in a worn-out chair with a giant snot bubble inflated and deflated from his nose with every breath.
Marty started walking toward him. Before he could reach him, Zac grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
He pointed at a piece of paper hanging from the wall beside the old man.
Marty squinted his eyes and read it aloud. "Wait until I wake up."
He turned toward Zac. "Is this for real?"
"No idea."
"Why don’t you call the vice principal and ask her?" Marty asked with a mocking smile.
"Do you want me to die?"
"Fine. But what should we do now, wait silently until he wakes up?"
Asking that Marty grabbed a nearby stool and sat down. The worn-out stool wasn’t able to withstand Marty’s weight and collapsed instantly, sending him crashing to the floor with a loud thud.
"Oww!"
"Damn."
[So much for being silent.]
The man stretched his arms, letting out a massive yawn, and stared at them. "Didn’t the paper tell you not to wake me up?"
"We didn’t," Marty said, pointing accusingly at the broken stool. "That thing committed suicide."
[More like you murdered it with your cannonball body.]
The old man looked at both of them for a few seconds. "You’re early. I thought you would only arrive at midnight."
"That’s because Miss Arm..." Before he could finish, Zac stepped on his foot.
"Luck," and said immediately. "We got lucky."
Marty winced but nodded. "Yep. Pure luck."
The old man stared at them again and started smiling. "Well, if that’s true, you’re going to need a lot more of it."
Zac folded his arms. "So where’s the academy?"
The old man looked around the bar. "Why? Doesn’t this place look like an academy to you?"
"Squeak." "Squee." "Eeeeep."
Right then, a mouse ran across the room.
All three turned toward it, watching the mouse disappear through a hole in the wall. Zac slowly looked back at the old man. "Really?"
The old man sighed. "Fine. This isn’t the academy."
"But it is the place every student has to visit before reaching the academy."
Marty frowned. "Do we have to be drunk before going to the academy?"
The old man’s expression became serious. "You think this is funny, boy? If I hear one more piece of nonsense from you, you can forget about getting to the academy ever again."
"Sorry, sir," said Marty, closing his mouth.
"Now coming back to what I’m saying, I’ll evaluate you before deciding whether to let you enter the academy or send you right back to wherever you came from."
"Don’t recruited students get admitted automatically?" Zac asked.
The old man’s face instantly darkened. "Are you implying I don’t know the academy rules?"
"N-No. That’s not what I meant."
"Good. The test is very simple. I’ll ask a few questions, and your answers will decide your fate."
Marty blinked. "What is this? An interview?"
"So, shall we begin?"
Marty cracked his knuckles. "Great. I’m actually pretty good at riddles."
"Not so fast." The man pointed directly at Zac. "You will go first."
"Ready?"
"Ask away."
The old man leaned back in his chair and stretched. "Before we begin, my name is Gordon."
"Zac."
"Marty."
Gordon nodded. "I know."
"One rule before we start: when I ask you a question, you will be the one to answer. Don’t look for your friend to help and answer honestly.
Zac frowned.
Before he could ask what that meant, the System suddenly spoke.
[Don’t ask me for help.]
"What?"
[Just as he told answer honestly.]
"Is there a reason you’re saying that?"
The system didn’t answer.
"Now you’re acting mysterious?"
"First question."
"Imagine you’re crossing a desert. You have enough water to save either your closest friend or five strangers."
"Who gets the water?"
"My friend."
"What if the five strangers are better people than your friend?"
"They probably are."
Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Then why save your friend?"
"Because they’re my responsibility."
"I don’t owe the world fairness. But I do owe loyalty to the people closest to me."
[Sniff... sniff...your loyalty to friendship is making me cry.]
"Second question."
"A merchant accidentally gives you ten thousand gold coins. You can either keep it or return it. Whatever you do, nobody will ever find out."
"What do you do?"
"That depends on my situation. If I need the money to survive, I’m keeping it; if not, I’ll return it."
"So according to you, morality depends on convenience?"
"No." Zac shook his head. "According to me, people who starve while protecting principles end up dead."
The old man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Third question."
"A giant demon rat is chasing a hundred people. The rat is very weak, so you can kill it instantly. But doing so will permanently make your hair pink for life."
The room fell silent.
Marty stared. "What? Is he serious?"
Zac rubbed his forehead. "How pink?"
"As pink as cotton candy."
"Sigh! I will kill the rat."
Gordon nodded. "Most applicants spend ten minutes thinking about that, you know."
"They’re just idiots."
[Yeah! Talk about choosing fashion over lives. But at the same time you can’t entirely accuse them; after all, they are youngsters who care about appearance.]
Marty quietly touched his own hair. "I would’ve needed at least five minutes to think it over."
"Fourth question."
"You discover a method that will make you the strongest man alive. But using it will kill every person around you."
"Would you use it?"
"No."
"Why not? Do you know what all the things you could do with that strength?"
"It doesn’t matter. What’s the use of living if there is no one you can care for and no one who cares about you?"
A strange look flashed through Gordon’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything.
"Next question."
"You are standing before two doors. The first door grants you unlimited power. The second guarantees that everyone you care about will live a long and happy life. Which one would you choose?"
Zac fell silent. His father, mother, sister, and several other faces flashed through his mind.
[Choose carefully. Power or people.]
Without a second thought, Zac answered,
"I choose power."
Marty’s eyes widened in surprise. Before Gordon could ask why, Zac continued.
"I choose power because it gives me a chance to protect them myself. As for guarantees, I don’t trust them."
"Just like the warranties that come with electronics, things don’t always work out the way they’re promised."
Zac clenched his fist.
"So instead of leaving the safety of the people I love in someone else’s hands, I’ll become the one responsible for protecting them with my own."
"And what if you fail?" Gordon asked.
"I won’t."
Zac’s voice was calm but firm. Gordon met his gaze and saw a determination burning within him like wildfire.
He didn’t know whether Zac would succeed or fail. But he knew the answer was sincere.
Without another word, he asked the final question.
"This will be the final question, so answer carefully."
"You are a king of a kingdom. You may rule it through fear or love or through wisdom."
"Which one would you use?"
Zac started thinking, and even after a long time, he was still debating within himself to find the correct answer.
And Gordon patiently waited for Zac to answer. After fifteen minutes of thinking, he looked Gordon in the eyes and said, "None."
"Fear creates rebels, love creates dependence, and wisdom creates arrogance. So I choose none."
"Then how would you rule?"
"Through consequences. People who do good should be rewarded, and people who harm others should pay the price."
"Whether they fear me, love me, or respect my wisdom is their problem."
A genuine smile appeared on Gordon’s face.
"Great answer."
[See? You did it, and you did it without my help.]
"Yeah, I did."
"You already know this test is meant to find my true self, right?"
[Yes.]
"Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?"
[Because I wanted you to discover who you are on your own.]
Zac fell silent for a moment before saying,
"Thanks."
