Helplessness, Reyn had known it many times. She remembered the times she tried to save her sick parents but couldn't. How she tried to escape the storm but couldn't. How she wanted to send Aren back home but couldn't. Being helpless was a part of life. It was a feeling that never sat well with Reyn. She was always at the mercy of the world. Perhaps that was why she became a player—to feel a little less helpless.
On the beach, Reyn looked up at the clear blue sky. "Host, I'm ready for my second game."
A piece of paper appeared. "Hai hai, find me my favorite fruit; it's a common fruit on islands."
Reyn looked at a coconut tree. Coconuts were definitely common on islands. The game didn't seem hard; it seemed like the game of finding the coolest crab. Reyn walked towards the tree and stopped, she suddenly realized something and clapped her hands. A coconut appeared in her hand.
Reyn held out the coconut towards the air. "Is it this?"
A piece of paper appeared. "Indeed it is. I'll increase all your base stats by 0.1."
-
Reyn
Strength: 0.3
Endurance: 0.3
Agility: 0.3
-
Reyn looked towards Poki's mansion, ever since Poki's last game, she had been resting. As for Mercy, Reyn could see him nearby meditating on the beach. It seemed he really liked the warm sun on the island.
Reyn turned her attention back to the Host. "I'm ready for my third game, Host."
A piece of paper appeared. "Alrighty, the game is simple: do one hundred pushups. Shouldn't be too hard."
Reyn thought of the challenge for a moment and nodded her head. Little did she know, the Host added multiple hidden restrictions to the game and a consequence if she failed. If the game had no consequences and restrictions, the reward would be an increase of 0.1 base stats if she succeeded. With the hidden consequence and multiple hidden restrictions the Host added, her stats would increase by 0.7 if she succeeded.
One of the hidden restrictions was she could only try one time. Without this restriction, she could keep trying until she succeeded. Another restriction was a time limit of ten minutes. Without this time limit, she could simply do one push-up a day until she succeeded. Another restriction was she could not fall on the ground or she would lose the game. This restriction made it so that she couldn't just take breaks if she was tired. Another restriction was the temporary removal of her infinite stamina. Without this restriction, she would be able to do thousands of pushups. Another restriction was that she wouldn't be told these restrictions.
With all these hidden restrictions and many more, the Host could increase her reward if she completed the game challenge. With her stats, the Host was confident Reyn could complete one hundred push-ups. As for why the Host wanted to quickly increase her stats, that was because the Host was lazy. It did not feel like making ten simple games for every player, as that would be quite a headache and boring.
The minutes passed by. With minimal determination, Reyn completed the 100th push-up. A piece of paper appeared. "Well done, I'll increase all your base stats by 0.7. Since you have 1 in all base stats, you also get a Golden Ticket."
-
Reyn
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Card: Golden Ticket
-
Reyn didn't understand why the Host increased her stats so much from one hundred push-ups, but she wouldn't complain. Overwhelming power flowed through her body, but the thing that caught her attention the most seemed to be the card in her mind that was like a permanent memory.
The Golden Ticket—the same kind of card Poki used to do a brutal challenge. Mercy stood up and walked towards her, he could somehow sense her change. He read the note and his eyes stuck on the Golden Ticket. "Are you going to use the Golden Ticket?"
Reyn thought for a moment and shook her head. "Not yet, I want to try the auction. As for the gambling, I'm not a gambler so I'm not interested. Could I ask you to increase your stats so you can get a Golden Ticket for the auction?"
Mercy thought for a moment and gave a nod. "Sure, why not. Give me a game, Host."
A piece of paper appeared. "Very well, Mercy. The game is last ten minutes while your feet are tickled without saying stop."
Mercy gave a nod and snapped his fingers, ropes and a cleaver appeared in his hand. Reyn wondered what he was going to do with them. Mercy sat down and chopped his right foot off with great strength. Reyn's face was filled with shock. "Mercy!"
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Mercy gave her a smile as he chopped off his left foot. "It's fine Reyn, remember, we can't feel pain here."
Reyn processed his words. She understood and became lost for words. Her view of Mercy slightly changed. He was either mad clever or stupid clever. "I can't believe you would think of this."
Mercy gave a chuckle and tied his legs with the ropes to stop the bleeding. "Begin, Host."
A piece of paper appeared. "Sighs, hai hai."
Invisible fingers started tickling Mercy's detached feet. Mercy and Reyn watched as the feet didn't so much as twitch. Poki came upon the scene and her jaws fell open. "What's going on?"
Reyn looked at Poki wordlessly with loss, and Mercy smiled. "Oh, I just chopped my feet off so the Host wouldn't be able to tickle me."
Poki stared at Mercy's detached feet, lost for words. "You're insane."
Mercy chuckled with joy, "I guess I am."
Ten minutes passed and the game was over. A piece of paper appeared. "I'll increase all your base stats by 0.1."
-
Mercy
Strength: 0.2 (2)
Endurance: 0.2 (2)
Agility: 0.2 (2)
Cards: Unsung Hero, Wishing Star
-
Mercy snapped his fingers and his detached feet turned to dust. The stumps on his legs healed and grew new feet. He tested them by wiggling his toes and they were good as new. "Well then Host, what's the second game?"
The air turned mischievous, a piece of paper appeared. "Second game is a riddle, who's the fairest among the Castaways on this island?"
Reyn fell into thought. "Fairest? Is it based on beauty?"
Poki narrowed her eyes. "It's definitely a trick question."
Mercy thought for a moment and immediately had an answer. "It's me, of course."
The air hung with silence, a piece of paper appeared. "Sighs, I was hoping you'd get it wrong. I'll increase all your stats by 0.8."
-
Mercy
Strength: 1 (10)
Endurance: 1 (10)
Agility: 1 (10)
Cards: Unsung Hero, Wishing Star, Golden Ticket
-
Mercy chuckled, "I was just guessing."
Poki wondered how Mercy was the fairest. She then could see why, since he was willing to sacrifice himself for Aren. Reyn too thought why, and the answer came to her. Both of them could see why. Little did they know, that was but a small part of the criteria the Host was using to determine who the fairest was.
Mercy stretched himself. "Host, since I stole Poki’s Special Challenge, can I give my Golden Ticket to her?”
A piece of paper appeared. "…Yes, would you like to?”
Mercy gave a nod and Poki felt something connecting to her soul. She accepted the connection and received the Golden Ticket. “Thank you, Mercy.”
Mercy smiled, “No problem.”
A piece of paper appeared and only Mercy could see it. “I’ll give you a card called Generous Gift for giving Poki your Golden Ticket. It’s a card that can increase the stats of something by ten times your base stats.”
The three players were suddenly transported to a fancy auction room that had a stage and many chairs around. They looked around curiously as a Golden Goose with sunglasses and a blunt landed on the stage. It spoke in a chill and relaxed voice. "I'm Golden Goose. Let's get this started. Are you two willing to hand over your Golden Ticket for the auction?”
The Golden Goose seemed whimsical and silly to Reyn and Poki. They looked at each other, then back at the Golden Goose. They answered at the same time. “Yes.”
Reyn and Poki’s Golden Tickets disappeared. A piece of paper appeared. "Both Reyn and Poki will each get 100 coins. There will be 10 items. Do your best to bleed each other. In this auction, the one with the most coins is king."
Poki looked at Reyn with a smile. "May the best bidder win."
Reyn smiled and nodded. “You too.”
The Golden Goose honked. “First item is a potion that increases base stat by 0.1. Starting bid is 1 coin.”
Reyn thought quickly. The potion was basically worth a simple game of feet tickling. “1 coin!”
Poki fired back, “2 coins!”
Reyn thought for a moment. “4 coins!”
Poki thought for a moment. Since the auction would have ten items, going up to 10 coins should be fine. Anything below 10 coins should be a steal. “5 coins!”
Not wanting to go over, Reyn remained silent. The Golden Goose started the count. “Going once, twice, thrice and the winner is Poki!”
A new item appeared, which was another potion. The Golden Goose continued. “Second item is another potion that increases base stats by 0.2. Starting bid is 1 coin.”
Both Poki and Reyn became suspicious of the items ahead. Were they potions that would increase in value? Knowing Reyn wouldn't let her steal the item for 1 coin, Poki did a bigger bid than 1 coin. “5 coins!”
Reyn became hesitant but decided to push the bid. “7 coins!”
Now it was Poki’s turn to be hesitant; if the items ahead increased in value, she didn't want to push her coins. However, anything below 10 coins should be a steal. “9 coins!”
Reyn thought for a moment and decided to push it since she didn't know if the items ahead would really continue increasing in value. “10 coins!”
Poki smiled at Reyn and became silent. The Golden Goose honked. “Going once, twice, thrice and the winner is Reyn!”
A new item appeared, it was another potion. “Third item is another potion, so unoriginal. It’ll increase your base stats by 0.3. Starting bid is 1 coin like usual.”
With further evidence to support that the items ahead would be increasing in value, Reyn fired straight away with an excited smile. “5 coins!”
Poki also fired back with an excited smile. “10 coins!”
Hesitation came upon Reyn. She couldn't tell if she should bid more or not. However, the excitement was still within her. “11 coins!”
Poki continued to smile and remained silent. The Golden Goose began the countdown. “Going once, twice, thrice and the winner is Reyn.”
Another item appeared. “Look what we have here, another potion. Is anyone surprised? Because I am, I thought it would be something original. Guess I’m just a silly goose. Starting bid is 1 coin like usual, it’ll increase your base stats by 0.4.”
Poki fired immediately. “10 coins!”
Reyn became hesitant but then looked at her coins. The gap between her and Poki wasn’t that big yet. “11 coins!”
Poki remained silent and the Golden Goose began the countdown. “Going once, twice, thrice and the winner is Reyn!”
Another item appeared, this time it was a card. The Golden Goose became slightly excited. “Look at that, it’s not another potion! The card is called Many Hands. For every 0.1 in all base stats you have, you get an extra invisible hand that has ten percent of your base stats. Starting bid is at one, I’m excited to see who’ll win it!”
Poki and Reyn froze. They looked at each other and nodded. Poki immediately fired away. “25 coins!”
Reyn thought for a moment and fired back. “30 coins!”
Poki bit her lips. Should she save her coins for the items ahead or spend them? Making a bottom line, Poki decided she would push for at least 50 coins. She was a gambler after all. “35 coins!”
Hesitation flashed through Reyn’s eyes. “40 coins.”
Poki bit her lips tighter. “45 coins!”
Mercy munched on an apple. He could see many utilities for Many Hands. Everyone looked at Reyn wondering if she would bid further. Reyn decided to live for a moment and pushed on. “50 coins!”
Poki held up her hands with a smile. “You win this one, Reyn.”
