Everyone's eyes were still glued to the lava pond which was still surging around. They had no problem imagining the lava worms having a feast below the surface. It took the others a few whiles before they could respond to Master's words.
"Ri… Rigged…? What do you mean by rigged…?" Naomi asked.
"This round only has one answer. We have to solve the puzzle in this room in a predetermined method," Master answered. "Anyone trying to free the captive in a way outside this method, the captive will get sacrificed early."
The ten minutes deadline wasn't completed yet when the chain broke.
"What predetermined method? There is no one telling us any method at all!" Stefan exclaimed.
"Are you a baby? Do you have to be spoon-fed everything? Open your eyes and find the clues yourself!" Master rebuked. He then pointed at one of the contraptions on one side of the room. "That lever there. Turning it should start something. It should trigger a chain reaction to that point, then that, and that."
Master continued pointing at multiple spots. "We need to do something to the gadgets there. Probably even hitting them. If we complete the sequence properly, we can then save the sacrifice."
"What's the point, we have already failed," Naomi said gloomily.
"Mm… Mm… Mm…," Jack wanted to say something but can't.
"Wait, you already know this while we try to save Richard but you didn't tell us?" Stefan asked.
Jack pointed at Stefan with approving eyes. That was what he wanted to say.
"We need to find out how this place works. That sacrifice serves a perfect function to test my hypothesis," Master answered.
"Mm… Mmm… Mmhh…!!" Jack mumbled. He was very dejected to be unable to speak.
It took a while before Master's words dawned on Stefan. His face turned dark and he lunged at Master.
"You, piece of sh*t! You used my friend just to prove your guess…?!
Jack again looked at Stefan with appreciation. Stefan's words were less flowery, but those were more or less what he wanted to say.
Master wasn't surprised by Stefan's advance. He had even expected it. His one hand shot out and grabbed Stefan's throat. Stefan wasn't even aware until Master's hand was already on his neck. With the stats from his five classes, his speed couldn't be compared to Stefan's, and so was his strength.
Master was currently applying pressure to his choke. Stefan tried to break free but Master's hand was like steel. He couldn't pry open even a single finger.
Another hand came and grabbed Master's wrist. The pressure from this hand slowly forced Master to release his clutch. Stefan hurriedly moved away once he was freed, coughing while he did. Once he was at a safe distance, he had a good look at the one who came to his rescue. It was Jack.
"Hmph! What are you going to do, mute king?" Master asked with a mocking tone.
Jack responded by sending an abrupt punch into Master's chest. Master flew back and hit the wall.
"Hm…?" Something puzzled Jack.
Master didn't fall despite being hit by such a strong punch. He rebounded off the wall and landed on two feet. If he felt any pain, he didn't show it.
Aglea's voice interrupted them. "Congratulation! The sacrifice dies! Isn't that fun? Hm…? What is this, are you people having a conflict among your own? You shouldn't be too hasty. You should save it for later, you know."
She just materialized beside the hole out of nowhere. Those who still stayed near the hole were startled till they fell. Luckily, they didn't fall in the direction of the hole.
"Today's match has ended. We will continue tomorrow," Aglea informed.
The room shuffled again. Before they knew it, they were back at the dungeon before the match, with chains bounding them.
"Rest. We will have fun again tomorrow," the vine face told them from above. Now that they had heard Aglea's voice, they noticed this vine face's voice was Aglea's but slightly distorted.
"Mmh! Mmhh…!!" Jack tried to call.
This time, the vine face or Aglea didn't ignore him.
"Do you promise to not interrupt me again?" Aglea asked.
Jack nodded profusely.
"Good boy," Aglea said.
Jack felt his lips part. He uttered something. "Yes!" He exclaimed. It was truly torturing for him not to speak.
Aglea vanished. The vines returned to their dormant state. The captives were now alone again in the same dungeon as before but with one fewer person.
Stefan was staring at Master with enmity.
Master snickered at the display. He taunted, "You, lowly people, can only blame others. If everything is left to you, everyone will die in every sacrificial round. It is because of the first sacrifice that we can now have better success chance in the next round."
"Are you trying to explain yourself?" Jack asked. In his heart, he felt so good to be able to talk again.
"Why do I need to explain?" Master scoffed. "This is what a leader does! I make the hard decision to sacrifice one person for the sake of more. The same way a ruler sends scouts during wartime. Even with the knowledge that some of these scouts will be most likely killed. It is worth it as long as a few returns with valuable information."
"Speak for yourself!" Jack spat. "A leader who doesn't care about his followers won't get far! All you care about is just yourself. For the sake of more, my ass! You just care for yourself and your ego! Everyone who follows you is just doing it out of fear. You will quickly find that you are alone when you lose your strength!"
"Haha. So, do you think being compassionate makes you a better leader? You are weak! That's what you are," Master returned. "I'm grateful you are a merciful leader because then, I will have an easier time crushing you and your pathetic country!"
"Come here then! Do you want me to punch you again?" Jack pulled at his chain.
Master was no longer sitting beside Jack. Master had changed places with Kramer, so Stefan and Kramer were now by Jack's side. Aglea probably did so because Jack and Master fought when she returned to the sacrificial round.
"Hmph! I have no time to waste on you," Master said and turned away. He no longer spared Jack a look.
"Just so you know. If you become the sacrifice, I will happily let you die," Jack said.
"The feeling is mutual," Master replied without turning back.
The others were both confused and fascinated by the two. It seemed the two had quite a history between them. They didn't understand most of the things the two talked about. They just knew the two had very different ideologies.
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